The Prison Within
by Jessica Cornell
Summary: ON HIATUS*Rogue is losing control of her gnetos psyche is growing stronger,attempting to take control and free his body from bretooth was captured and allowed to live in the mansion on the condition that he w he can get to FLUFF.
1. 1985

_1985_

"This doesn't change anything," James Logan said in a hard voice, taking deep breaths to steady himself, "We're through."

Victor cocked his head and smiled at his younger brother patronizingly, showing just of a hint of his elongated canines, and shook his head slowly. "We'll never be through, Jimmy. We're brothers. And brothers look out for each other." He spoke to him as if he was speaking to a small child that didn't understand the way something worked. Giving his brother one last look, he leapt off the ledge into the smoke and dust and disappeared.

James looked down after him, but quickly spun around, feeling the foundation beneath him start to shake and crumble. He too jumped over the side but opposite the one his brother had. Everything came down around him as he landed hard on the surface of the ground. He rolled onto his back just in time to see a large chunk of the building coming down on top of him.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, a dark figure leapt over him. James was shocked that Gambit had actually come back to help him. This was the last place that mutant had ever wanted to return. Using his cane, he managed to defy gravity and leap onto the underside, using his 'talents' to explode the chunk of concrete into tiny harmless little pieces that scattered all around Logan.

Gracefully, he landed in an arc on the ground beside Logan who was slowly standing up. Cockily grinning from ear to ear, he asked, "Miss me?"

James raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly. He was about to speak when he heard a distant voice calling his name. He looked over as it called out again. "Remy, there are kids trying to get off this island. Go find them and make sure their safe. I'll catch up with you later."

Gambit nodded and dashed off, while James turned and jogged toward the voice. The dust cleared as he neared and saw Kayla, his love, lying on the ground and bleeding from a fatal wound. He felt like he got punched in stomach.

She smiled the same slow, warm smile that always managed to take his breath away and he knelt down, kissing her hands and looking at the blood seeping from her abdomen. "I'll get you out of here," he promised, scooping her up and walking quickly toward Gambit's plane. Her head rested limply on his chest.

Suddenly, from behind, a loud blast accompanied by the searing hot pain of a bullet, tore through his upper back, dropping him to the ground along with Kayla who gave out a cry of pain. The pain, along with Kayla's distress, fueled his rage and his adamantium claws immediately unsheathed themselves from the spaces between his knuckles. Six 12 inch blades glittered in the dawning pink sunlight as he gave a roar and charged his former boss and ally Colonel William Stryker.

Stryker was afraid but still managed to blast off several rounds into James' body. James crouched and leapt off a piece of debris serving as a ledge with a primal roar that was fearsome enough to chill the blood of any man. The position his body was in while he was mid-leap was just the prime target that Stryker needed to put a bullet into his exposed forehead.

James dropped to the ground instantly, nothing but deadweight. It would have killed a normal man, but Stryker knew this was no normal man. He was extraordinary even for a mutant. Though his flesh and organs would repair themselves in time, he knew that the thing which gave him his humanity, that kept his feral instincts at bay, would be gone forever. His memories. Without them he would just be the animal that he had been fighting against for well over a hundred years now.

Hopefully, that would buy Stryker the time he needed to reorganize and grow stronger, as well as smarter. There would be no doubt that should Logan ever regain his memories Stryker would be a dead man. Just to make extra sure, he fired off another round into his head.

Unknowingly behind him, the ominous dark figure of Victor Creed crouched in the shadows watching. His instinct had first been to help his brother, but when he saw that it was just a gun that Stryker was using to defend himself, he snorted and figured he would wait until Jimmy healed and then take Stryker down together. Alive. There was still something that Victor wanted—no, needed- Stryker to do for him.

After that they would kill him, or at least _he_ would. Jimmy was different now and Victor didn't really know what to make of his weak and humane behavioral turn. Compassion and sympathy were foreign emotions to him, having never been shown them even in his childhood. The only thing comparable to love that he had ever felt toward another human being was for Jimmy, his brother. They had been inseparable until six years ago and when he had abandoned him. Victor's time alone had been unbearable.

He kept watching him as Stryker walked slowly over to where his brother's woman was lying, bleeding and dying on the ground. He could smell her anger and fear as the man towered over her and aimed the gun at her head.

Victor smiled when Stryker forgot who was dealing with and let himself get too close to her. She wrapped a weak hand around his ankle. The gun went from pointing at her head to pointing at his head, his control over his own mind gone.

She said something to him and Stryker tossed his gun and walked away, blankly as if in a daze. He stood up, still watching Jimmy who wasn't moving yet. His brow furrowed and he wondered what was taking so long. They both been shot in the head more times than either could count but nothing had taken them down yet. Why was this time any different?

Just then James stirred and rolled over onto his side, groaning and stiffly raising himself up to a sitting position. His eyes were unfocused and he looked around with an odd look on his face. Victor took a step forward to go to his brother, but stopped quickly as that damn Cajun mutant sprinted up from the opposite side.

As a precaution, Victor stayed still for a moment to observe them. He remembered the fight in the alley just a short time ago. Seeing how much more powerful Jimmy had become than him had been disconcerting. That Cajun could pack some power too.

James looked bewildered and a little angry and glanced down at the dog tags that were always around his neck. He read them and saw that on one side it said Logan and on the other it said Wolverine. Where the hell was he? More importantly, _who_ the hell was he?

"Hey man," a loud voice called, jogging up to him out of breath, "we gotta go now. Ready?"

He felt disoriented and afraid and his instincts took over. This guy in front of him could be a threat. He lunged forward and angrily clenched his fists around the young man's shirt hauling him up to his face.

"Who are you? What am I doing here?" the man who assumed his name was Logan asked, darting his eyes around to check for any signs of possible danger.

Remy was taken aback and extremely confused. He glanced up at the lingering bullet hole in the man's head. _Damn_. "I'm the guy who brought you here. I'm a friend," he said, holding up his hands in surrender.

Logan's face was red with anger. "Yeah? What's my name?" he challenged.

Remy spoke slowly as one would do to a hissing, cornered animal. "Logan. Your name's Logan."

He was telling the truth, Logan thought. It was written around his neck. He abruptly let go of the other guy and looked around tensely. Remy cautiously walked around him toward the direction of his plane. He would figure out how to help his new friend later but right now…

"We need to get out of here," he stated, jerking a thumb to the side and grabbing Logan's arm.

He allowed himself to be led because frankly he had no idea right now about anything and could remember nothing before five minutes ago.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a woman lying still on the ground apparently dead. Something nagged at him and he went over to her. She was beautiful, he thought. He wondered what had happened to her. Had he killed her? What was she doing here? Did he know her? There was something about her.

"Do you know her?" the boy asked, echoing his thoughts a little breathlessly, glancing over at the trucks that were coming in the distance.

Logan frowned and furrowed his brow as blurry images melted in his mind. He couldn't grasp a hold of anything concrete. "No," he admitted, closing the dead woman's eyes. Now she was more peaceful looking.

"Listen, these guys are not gonna like what you've done to this place, so we need to get out of here," Remy urged, still trying to keep a calm voice. He didn't need any nuclear explosions from this guy. A blow from him felt like a metal bar hitting you in the face.

Logan didn't look up. "I'll find my own way," he responded gruffly, still looking down at the woman. He couldn't be around people right now. The urge to get away was too strong and he wanted to be by himself.

Remy looked at him for a moment and then slowly nodded. "Alright man. Good luck." And he reluctantly jogged over to his plane to get away as quickly as possible.

Victor watched in rage and disbelief as Logan took one last look at Kayla and then stood up and ran away opposite the direction that the trucks were coming in. Without thinking, Victor took off in the same direction as his brother, crouching on all fours and leaping over the debris as agilely as a cat.

As he ran, he thought furiously about what he just witnessed. His brother had no idea who he was or even where he was. What the fuck had Stryker shot him with? Why had he lost his memories? His insides burned with grief at the loss and he knew that he had to make it right. He had to find Stryker and force him to fix Jimmy. They only had each other in this world and Jimmy had already abandoned him once. He couldn't do it again.

Judging from the less than warm welcome the Cajun had received he reckoned that it would be in his own best interests to wait to confront Jimmy about his identity. Who knows how he would react to the claim that he was a mutant freak with a brother who was also a freak and that they were both over a hundred and fifty years old.

This memory problem of Jimmy's wouldn't be permanent, he reasoned with himself. Nothing could hurt them or kill them. They were invincible. Soon everything would be back to normal and they would be reunited. It didn't matter that his brother was furious at him and had no desire to ever speak to him again for his part in the previously staged death of Kayla.

Victor Creed was a man with single minded desires. When he decided he wanted something, nothing short of death would stop him from trying to get it. With a growl, he kept running as fast as he could, never letting his brother stray out of sight.


	2. 1986 DC and Maine

_1986 Washington D.C._

The house was dark and empty when William Stryker walked through the back door. Just as it had been every night for the last year since his wife killed herself. It was more like a tomb to him now than a home.

As he flicked on the kitchen light he gasped and staggered backwards, finding that he was not as alone as he would have thought. Victor Creed sat at his kitchen table tapping one long curved claw on the smooth surface and smiling at him coldly. His eyes were like chips of grey ice.

"Victor!" Stryker gasped standing still and not making any sudden movements. He glanced around him for any possible weapons but nothing was in reach. It didn't matter anyway. There was no way he could take Creed down. The man would simply heal and keep coming.

He was afraid, more afraid than he had been with Logan. Logan was a bit more human than his brother. He had thought Victor to be dead, crushed under the rubble that was Three Mile Island. Apparently not.

Victor raised his eyebrows mockingly and stood up. "Stryker." He narrowed his eyes on the other man as he slowly advanced.

"What are you doing here?" Stryker asked, his voice slightly higher in pitch than normal. "I thought you were dead." Hoped was more like it.

"What did you do to Jimmy?" He didn't like to beat around the bush too much. Sometimes it was fun to toy with his victims before he killed them, but in this case he was in a hurry.

"He was a danger to us, Victor," he said smoothly, trying to save himself with as much fast talking as possible. "I had to stop him. He was out of control."

Victor easily crossed the remaining space between them and grabbed Stryker by the throat, lifting him up against the wall easily. "What did you do to him? He lost his memories."

Stryker tried to loosed the other man's grip around his neck but couldn't. "I shot him in the head with only thing that will penetrate his metal skull. Adamantium bullets," he gasped, desperately trying to free himself.

Victor eased his grip a fraction and frowned. Adamantium bullets? He glared at Stryker and kept him pinned to the wall. "Fix it," he growled.

"I can't. There's nothing I can do," Stryker said nervously, "As long as the bullets are in his brain his memories will be gone."

As long as they're in… Victor would just have to find Jimmy and get someone to retrieve the bullets. Then everything would be fine. Brothers look out for each other.

He turned his grey eyes back to the trembling man in his grips. He smiled a slow chilling smile. "Thanks. You've been a big help, Colonel. Say hi to your wife for me." He slid his claws out as far as they would go and reached for his throat.

"Wait, wait," Stryker tried stammering, sweat running down his forehead, "You can't beat him, Victor. If you try to confront him, you'll lose."

Victor glowered and snatched up the other man's neck, squeezing slowly so that he could enjoy it. "We'll see,' he promised.

"I—I—can…help you," Stryker gurgled out, turning red. He was trying one last ditch effort to save himself, playing on the one thing that had been his previous control over Victor. His desire to be better than his brother. More powerful.

To his disappointment it didn't work this time. Victor just sneered and kept squeezing. "I won't fall for anymore of your lies, Stryker."

"Not lies—new project," he gasped, "Help…your…brother."

Victor scowled not wanting anything to do with him anymore. But, a niggling seed had already been planted in the back of his mind. The kind that told him that this time would be different. This time he would finally get what he wanted, everything. Power, his brother, the life he wanted.

His grip slowly and reluctantly eased up and Stryker coughed and gasped for air, his vision swimming. It had worked. Now he just had to keep Victor interested. He smiled stiffly as the glaring eyes bored into him.

"Start talking," Victor demanded coldly, keeping him firmly under one clawed hand.

_1986 Maine_

It was cold. Not even winter yet and snow was falling outside. Logan wasn't as affected by the falling temperature as the other men were. They walked into the bar, shivering and shaking white fluff off their hats and coats, eying the stranger with a distrustful eye before sitting down on worn red leather stools.

"Three beers, Tom," one of them called out, happy now that a long work day and an even longer work week was finished and under his belt. Tom obliged the man and sent three foaming mugs sliding down the bar.

It was six o'clock on a Friday night and things were about to pick up. Logan sat stoically at the opposite end, smoking a cigar and minding his own business. He didn't know anybody in this town and he didn't want to. He was just passing through for a short time before heading back out again. He'd found work at a farm outside the town about five miles and it would suit him for the time being.

But, people always got nosy. They got suspicious when he was able to heal so quickly, or lift loads men twice his size had trouble with. And someone always made him angry, always had something to prove and then people got hurt.

He figured that it was better to keep drifting, not getting close to anyone. It had been a year since he had first awakened with no memory of who he was, except that he knew he was a mutant.

He heard about the emerging mutant phenomena on the news at various bars that he patroned. Snippets of gossip combined with general remarks he heard made about people like him led him to strive to lead a quiet life. He would give trouble to those who asked for it, but he wasn't going to court it. But, some men begged for it… and he found he was only too happy to oblige.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he could immediately tell it wasn't a friendly tap. He tensed and gave the man an unfriendly look hoping he'd take the hint and leave him alone. He didn't.

"Hey, that your bike outside?" the man asked, giving Logan a hard stare that most men would begin shaking under. Logan wasn't most men.

He inhaled on his cigar and sighed. "Yeah, what about it?"

"You're parked in my spot."

Logan stared ahead, glancing over the different bottles of liquor that lined the shelves behind the bar. Was this guy for real? "Didn't know there was assigned parking here, pal." He took another drag and prepared to stub it out. He didn't want the cigar to get crushed and ruined in a bar fight.

The big guy behind him didn't think he was so amusing. "Well, now you know. If you were smart you'd move it," he threatened, cracking his knuckles. He didn't like this newcomer and wanted to make sure he knew who ran things around here.

Logan shrugged. "If you were smart you'd walk away right now."

The guy looked astounded. He outweighed Logan easily by about a hundred pounds, and he was a couple inches taller too. He looked back at everyone who had stopped what they were doing in the hopes of seeing some fists fly and laughed.

"What do you think you're going to do if I don't?"

Logan had had about enough. He stubbed out his cigar and slowly stood, turning as he did so to face his challenger. His anger was starting to simmer below the surface and he inhaled slowly to calm himself. It wouldn't do to lose control too early.

The other guy took in Logan's posture and facial expression. He was going to really enjoy pummeling this arrogant fool. He raised a fist and aimed a punch right at Logan's face, which he ducked and rebounded with his own. Blood squirted from the giant's nose and he looked down at it in wonder and then fury.

Logan glared at him as he charged forward and sidestepped a blow, planting a knee in his stomach and a follow up punch to a kidney. The man fell to the ground and Logan looked longingly over at his cigar, wondering if the guy had had enough yet. He hadn't.

"Aaargh!" the man screamed in fury as swung his fists blindly and furiously hoping to connect with some part of his opponent. Everyone was watching and he couldn't be made a fool of in front of them. It would be humiliating especially losing to a guy almost half his size. His bulk was slowing his down though and he was beginning to sweat profusely.

Logan landed two more solid punches to the guy's face and he was out cold. His enormous bulk landed on the bar floor with a resounding thud. Everyone looked at him in amazement. Nobody had ever beaten Nathan before and so easily. The other guy hadn't even landed one punch.

Some of his buddies rushed over to take him to the hospital, glaring at him the whole time. It was clear they weren't going to let this incident go. Logan smiled briefly. Let them come, he thought. Fighting gave him a thrill that nothing else did. He was good at it and it came naturally to him it seemed. Maybe he was a fighter before he lost his memory.

The bar slowly went back to normal and nobody said anything to him. A few of the women eyed him with appreciation and he gave them a twisted smile that said they were more than welcome to join him upstairs later. It seemed that they were going to take him up on his offer, but before he could make a move, he felt another tap on the shoulder.

"What?" he growled, annoyed that he had been interrupted and bother yet again. He whirled around on his stool to see a thin wiry looking man holding a card out to him. Logan sniffed it and wasn't impressed. "I repeat, what?"

"That was quite a performance you gave there, friend," he started easily, lowering his arm haltingly as he realized the rough looking man wasn't going to take the card he held out.

Logan ignored him and turned back around to face the bar. His cigar was calling to him.

That didn't deter him though. "Stanley Roswell, here friend and I just wanted to-,"

"I'm not your friend. Go bother someone else," Logan groused, successfully lighting it and inhaling deeply.

"Well, okay but I just wanted to let you know of an opportunity for someone of your talents if you were so inclined."

"Already got a job."

"One that pays a thousand dollars for a few minutes of your time?" He knew he had him when Logan turned around and eyed him speculatively.

"Eventually it will," he said. "What sort of job?"

Stan slid onto the stool next to him and tossed his card over. "A fight. Tomorrow night. Winner takes home the grand prize of one thousand dollars. For someone like you it would be a sure thing."

Logan rolled his eyes at the flattery but was intrigued by the proposition. "Who do I have to fight?"

Stan leaned closer. "Well, there will be other participants of course. Three minute rounds. Whichever person takes down the current champion is the winner."

Logan smirked as he perused the card. He was guessing that if the other guys were all non-mutants then they wouldn't stand a chance against him. He had no qualms at all about using his mutation for personal gain. He didn't much care for fair or unfair. Hell, life was unfair. He was testament to that. Besides, his current predicament didn't leave much room for career advancement. He would take what he could get.

And, he would enjoy it.

"Count me in." He pocketed the card and Stanley smiled.


	3. 1990 Alkali Lake

_1990 Alkali Lake_

Victor howled in frustrated rage around the empty room. Jimmy had disappeared and he hadn't been able to track his scent anywhere. He had traveled for the last two years searching, but to no avail. He wasn't dead, he knew, so where was he? It had been five years since he had last seen him and it was taking longer than he had wanted.

His appearance had grown unkempt and rough. His hair was longer and his clothes were old and torn. He glowered at the wall opposite him, cursing Stryker for delaying his quest for his brother. He was stronger now, but what did it matter if Jimmy wasn't around to be on the receiving end? He kicked a rock on the floor and watched it shoot across the room and ricochet off the wall.

He was leaving, he decided. He had wasted enough time here. It was getting boring, fetching mutant kids for Stryker's experiments. They didn't have government backing anymore since the island incident and everything was conducted in semi secrecy. On the surface the base looked empty but below, it was a whole different story.

Victor watched as his claws grew out. Stryker had kept his promise to make him stronger, but he still hadn't been allowed the same process his brother had gone through. He growled again. It grated on him that even all that shit that Stryker had put into him, Jimmy was still stronger. He was stronger and didn't need him. He hated that.

When he found him again, he was going to kick his ass. It would serve him right for betraying him. He walked over and opened the door not bothering to tell anyone where he was going. If they tried to stop him they would die.

Of course nobody did. The only people that walked around freely were himself, military guards and Stryker. He was always given a wide berth by the humans. He walked right out the door and heard the heavy metal slam behind him. It was hot out today but he didn't pay attention to it. He kept walking until he came to the nearest town. By then it was dark.

It was a good sized town, but not many people were out this late. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of a woman. A woman and someone else. He looked around and didn't see anybody. He smiled a cold cruel smile and moved with the grace of a cat over to the nearest alley way. He had never been one to deny himself anything that he wanted and right now he wanted her. Why shouldn't he have her?

The woman, well girl really, never even heard him approach. He smelled her fear and watched as three other guys beat him to her. They laughed at her distress and ripped her purse from her hands.

"Please," she pleaded, "leave me alone."

They circled her, reaching out their hands to grab and pinch her. She attempted to fight back, but this only amused her tormentors further. Victor chuckled darkly, walking up behind them and pausing.

They turned around and saw him. The leader flicked out a knife and waved it threateningly in his face. "Back off, guy. This is none of your business."

The girl looked at him desperately, her eyes begging him to save her from these men. She was decently pretty, he observed. Not that it mattered. He would take an ugly girl just as well. He smiled at her and she mistook it for a reassuring one.

Without saying a word the guy stuck the knife into Victor's stomach, causing him to double over. The pain was brief as he healed and when he straightened back up, he saw fear in their eyes.

"What the hell? You one of those freaks?" one of them asked.

Victor just smirked and contracted his claws, ripping the leader's throat out before he even had time to blink. "What gave me away?"

The others were not quick enough and pretty soon, three dead bodies littered the alley way, dark red blood pooling under his feet.

The girl started crying. "Thank you, mister. I don't know how I can ever thank you for saving me," she sobbed, reaching down for her purse. She didn't notice that Victor's claws had never retracted back in.

"Oh, I didn't really save you," he chuckled, advancing towards her.

She looked at him nervously and took in his demeanor as well as the look in eyes. Oh boy, she had fallen out of the frying pan and into the fire. This guy was more dangerous than the other three combined.

"Look mister, I won't tell anybody that you're a mutant if that's what you're worried about," she said darting a glance over to the side where she could see the occasional car driving by. They were too far away to attract any attention though and she bit her lip in fear.

He backed her into the wall and placed both hands on either side of her shoulders. His thumb lifted to trace the skin closest to it and she panicked. She lifted a knee up to catch him in the groin, but he was too quick. He laughed and grabbed her around the waist, easily lifting her up and taking her deeper into the shadows.

She screamed when he threw her down on the cold hard concrete behind a dumpster. He stood over her staring at her disconcertingly for a moment and she looked up at him pleadingly. Her silent pleas held no sway over him however and he leered, falling to his knees to cover her body with his.

Her struggles were met with a hard slap to her face, tearing the soft skin of her cheek and leaving it dripping with blood. He hadn't bothered to retract his claws yet and he kept cutting her as he sliced away her clothes. She screamed out into the night for somebody to help her but all she got was an echo and another slap.

This time she felt the blood running into her mouth and she choked, trying to spit it out as it came in. He shoved off his long coat and tossed it to the side, switching positions so that he could straddle her body. She wasn't putting up much of a fight anymore, just crying and choking on the ground. He was single minded in his purpose to have her and most of her cries fell on deaf ears.

He undid his pants quickly, having put his hands right again, mostly so he didn't slice off his dick, and positioned himself at her entrance. She choked when she felt him touching her and thrashed around, wishing someone would come rescue her. Why hadn't she run away when he had killed the other men bothering her?

He clamped down on her hip to hold her still and she felt him again. Bile rose up in her throat and she forced it back down.

"You're nothing but a filthy mutant," she spat, showing more bravery than she felt. "All of you deserve to die."

He leaned close to her face, smiling the same smile that never seemed to reach his eyes and inhaling her scent deeply into his nostrils. Her words held no meaning to him. She was just a human, weak and frail. It made no difference. If she had been a mutant he would have done the same thing to her. He wasn't choosy.

He grasped her throat with one hand and tightened it around her as he entered her roughly. She gave a strangled sob and tried to claw at his hand but he paid her no attention. She was just an empty vessel to him, to use for his own base primal needs. He was squeezing tighter and tighter and her face was turning an alarming shade red.

He moved over her roughly, sinking his teeth into the top of her breast and growling. He tasted her blood and licked the drops away. Her hands fell away from his arm and her eyelids fluttered shut. Something warm was seeping from her neck and he realized that he had sunk his claws into her. His eyes closed as he shuddered his release into her and then collapsed, breathing heavily for a few moments against her limp shoulder. He knew without looking at her that she was dead.

He released her neck and lifted himself off her, pulling his pants up and grabbing his coat. He didn't even spare her lifeless form a glance as he walked away, sheathing his claws and blending into the darkness once again.

He kept to the shadows and simply wandered for a good part of the night. Wandering gave him time to think which usually he hated, but right now he didn't mind. He thought back to the Cajun mutant that he had seen with Jimmy at the island. Remy Lebeau, he remembered. He had personally picked him up and delivered him to Stryker's base. Had put up quite a fight too. The Cajun might know something about Jimmy.

He felt that a detour to New Orleans was in order and figured he'd get started in the morning after getting some sleep. He was about to turn left into another alley for some rest when all of a sudden a long sleek black car pulled up alongside him. His claws came out instantly and he stopped and turned.

A window rolled down in the back and a smooth accented voice drifted out. "Victor Creed? You can sheath those claws. I am a friend." The voice managed to sound mocking and reassuring at the same time.

Victor snarled and advanced forward to the open window preparing to reach in and drag whoever was in there out. His hand rose midway and then stopped when he saw an extremely powerful taser pointed straight at him form the driver's seat.

"Why don't you come inside and listen to what I have to say first." It wasn't a question, but more of a command.

He no longer felt any desire to attack this man, but he had no interest in whatever he was offering. Instead he turned and started walking away. The car drifted forward following him slowly.

"You want to find your brother don't you?" the man questioned, stopping the car and waiting for him to take the bait.

Victor stalked over and yanked the door open. "What do you know of my brother?" He surveyed the man who was speaking to him and was mildly surprised to find that he was older than most mutants he had come across. Of course, Victor was still his senior by about eighty years, but who was counting?

The man held up a gloved hand and patted the air in front of him. "Why don't you come inside so that we can talk in private?"

Victor scowled down at him and reluctantly climbed in. "If you try anything I will rip your heart out," he snarled, feeling very uneasy in the cramped space of the car. He rudely stared at the man and waited for him to continue.

The other man paid no attention and instead smiled briefly. "My name is Eric Lensherr. I am a mutant like you and could use a man with your special talents on my team."

"What team?" he asked suspiciously, his low voice sounding menacing in the small space.

"I am the leader of an organization that calls itself the Brotherhood of Mutants. We are the next stage of evolution, Victor. Mutants. Mankind's days are coming to an end."

Victor couldn't care less about some radical mutant freedom movement. "I don't give a shit about that. Where's my brother?"

Eric smiled more tolerantly at him than he ever would in the future. "I haven't a clue where you brother is, but I assure you the resources at my disposal will aid you far better than the ones at yours. If you join me in the service to better the lives of mutants everywhere then I will use everything in power to help you find him." He smiled craftily at him. "Who knows maybe he'll join us too."

Victor thought about it. Maybe this guy _could_ help him.

"All you would have to do is what you do best," Eric continued, crossing one leg over the other and staring at Victor.

Victor stared back, narrowing his eyes. "Alright, I'll join you. But if I find out you're lying I'll kill you."

Eric smiled coldly at that. "Fair enough. Then it's settled. Get comfortable. Mystique is going to drive us to our lodgings for the night. And by the way," he added pausing and letting his steely blue eyes linger once more on his newly acquired passenger and soldier, "you need another name."

Victor said nothing as Eric looked him over, merely stared at him disinterestedly.

"I think I'll call you… Sabretooth. Yes, that name fits you nicely. Welcome, Sabretooth, to the dawning of a new era."

_1995 Alaska_

Logan was tired and sore. This fight had taken more out of him than usual and he suspected that the other guy was a mutant. He was the only one to ever somewhat jar him when he punched him.

He stared at the limp form lying on the floor and lit a cigar. Well, whatever his mutation was it hadn't helped him much. Logan had still knocked him out in under a minute.

He rolled his shoulders and popped his neck, grabbing his shirt on the way back to the bar. He pocketed the money that he had won and figured he would be able to buy that travel trailer the guy down the road was selling. It was time to move on. He had traveled all the way across Canada and made it up to the edge of Alaska.

It was time to go. Make his way back to the other side again. He picked up his dog tags and stared at hem for a moment as he had done a hundred times before. Wishing and hoping that they could give him answers.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head. He was never going to find out truth and he might as well accept that. He roughly slung the silver chain over his neck and tucked them into his shirt. He sighed. He needed a hot bath and a lot of beer. And maybe a woman or two.


	4. 2000 Loughlin City

_2000 Laughlin City, Alberta, Canada_

Rogue walked into the bar wearily and dropped her army issue green duffel bag onto the floor beside a barstool. "Just water, please," she asked the bartender. He eyed her suspiciously but didn't say anything. Just nodded and walked off.

It was loud and noisy behind her and she turned to see a cage set up, like the kind people fight in. A shirtless, tall, broad-shouldered man was inside, back facing her, and bracing himself with one arm against the cage wall. He had apparently just won a fight but didn't seem that excited by it. The announcer at the mike called him 'The Wolverine'.

Her sixteen year old eyes traveled over his tanned muscular frame and down his long denim encased legs. Now that was a man, she thought forlornly. She turned around to face the bar again and took a sip of water. If she were a normal person she might actually have a chance to get close to someone like that. An older man, more experienced, one who would protect her and travel with her.

But, she wasn't normal and she would never have the chance to get close to anybody. Another round was going on but she ignored it and just sat tiredly, letting her eyes drift to the tip jar full of one dollar bills just sitting in front of her. She was so hungry that she momentarily thought about taking some of it.

Could she do that? she wondered. Take somebody else's money that they depended on just for her own survival? She had found out since running away from home that she was capable of a great many things that she had never thought of. She was stronger than she had thought, also. She had been on her own for almost six months now and had survived so far. She wouldn't let this rut she was in slow her down.

The fight ended it seemed due the loud shouts and boos from the crowd. She kept her hood up over head, trying not to draw attention to herself as the man she had been admiring earlier came and sat down at the bar a few seats away and ordered a beer.

She eyed him nervously from the corner of her eye. He was different. From the way he fought she wondered if maybe he wasn't a mutant, like her. Would he help her? she wondered.

He caught her looking at him and she averted her eyes. The news was on and she looked up the TV when she heard something about mutants. She noticed that the guy called Wolverine did too. They locked gazes for an instant and he frowned at her suspiciously, lowering his eyes and concentrating on the cigar in his hand.

Rogue couldn't help but look over at him again. Her eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. He looked up again feeling her stare and this time he was annoyed. Why the hell did she keep looking at him? Rogue caught the movement behind him and looked over his shoulder. It was the guy he had just lost to and apparently he didn't like losing.

"Hey buddy, you owe me some money," he said loudly.

The Wolverine didn't even turn his head. "You lost. Suck it up and move on."

His friend tried to restrain him but the guy threw off his hand. He leaned close to Wolverine's ear and whispered, "I know what you are, _freak_."

Now this caught his attention. He turned his head halfway and looked at him through his peripherals. "You keep running your mouth you'll lose more than just money, bub."

The man turned as if to walk away but at the last minute Rogue saw him furiously take a knife from his pocket and flick it open.

"Watch out," she cried, her heart beating furiously as the man came at him in a jabbing motion. Wolverine leapt up quickly and punched him, at the same time a loud metal on metal noise was heard, as if a sword had just been unsheathed.

Rogue stared dumbfounded at Wolverine who now had three long silver knives protruding from his knuckles and being held at the man's throat. It was the same with his other hand. She gulped. She had been right about him. He _was_ a mutant like her.

Logan was breathing heavy as the rage coursed through his veins. He wanted nothing more than to just run his blades through this guy's throat but over the years he had learned self control. It was impractical to just travel around leaving a trail of dead bodies at every bar he walked through. Just about that time, he felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun positioned at the back of his head.

"Get out of my bar, mutant. We don't need your kind here," the bartender ordered.

That made him angry. That and the threat of having his head blown off caused him to quickly draw up his other hand and slash through the entire barrel spilling bullets everywhere across the floor. Logan took one last look at the girl who was staring at him white-faced and terrified and he forced himself to calm down. He needed to get out of here.

He quickly walked out of the building leaving the back way. Rogue looked at everybody and then she too grabbed her bag and dashed out the back way, darting her eyes and looking for him. She needed to leave this town badly and didn't think the man would give her a ride if she asked. She saw him enter the driver's side of a truck with a camper and a trailer attached to it and quickly ducked under the tarp covering the little trailer.

It was somewhat warm once she was inside and covered up and she was able to fall asleep quickly as the hum of the tires lulled her. It seemed as if only five minutes had passed when she felt the abrupt jerking sensation of the vehicle stopping. Inwardly, she groaned at the thought of being thrown out into the cold. By now she was sure that they were a good ways outside the town.

Maybe he wasn't stopping because of her, she hoped. His footsteps grew closer and then paused. Something jabbed her in the shoulder hard and her breathing hitched. The canvas was thrown back and the daylight assaulted her eyes. She squinted and looked up at the man called Wolverine. He was glaring at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked in irritation, jerking his thumb for her to get out.

She threw her legs over and grabbed her bag. "I need a ride," she told him embarrassedly, "I thought you might help me." She stood awkwardly in the middle of the road, hoping that he wouldn't leave her here.

"You thought wrong," he snorted.

"You're just going to leave me here?" she asked looking around at the huge snow drifts and the trees that surrounded the road on both sides.

He turned to get back into the truck. "Not my problem," he said shortly, opening the door.

"I saved your life," she called trying one last attempt to obtain some of his sympathy. Apparently he had none.

"No you didn't," he responded shortly and slammed the door, driving away.

She stood there helplessly watching him leaving and her heart plummeted as she thought about what she was going to do now. It would be a long walk in the dark tonight. Full of wild animals. She shivered and pulled her green traveling cloak tighter to her.

Just then, the truck up ahead braked suddenly and sat there as if waiting for her. He wasn't leaving her here, she thought grinning, her eyes lighting up. She grabbed her bag and jogged over to the truck.

He cocked an eyebrow at her as she climbed in and shut the door.

"Thanks," she said, gratefully, settling into the comfortable seat. He didn't say anything just grunted and twitched a shoulder.

Her stomach had been growling for the last two days and she turned to him all semblance of dignity gone. "You wouldn't happen to have something to eat would you?" she asked, her eyes appearing large on her too pale face.

He pursed his lips and reached over to the glove box for a couple slices of bread that were left from the loaf he had bought a few days ago. Sometimes while he was driving he would slap some meat between two pieces of bread and have a meal to go.

She took off her gloves and ate the bread ravenously as if she was starving and he wondered just what had happened to her. "What's your name, kid?" he asked gruffly, eyeing her.

She swallowed the bite. "Rogue."

He smirked. "What kind of name is Rogue?"

She gave him a sassy look back and raised an eyebrow of her own. "What kind of name is Wolverine?"

A small smile graced his lips and he looked over at her again, slightly amused. After a pause, he said, "It's Logan."

He told her his name so she figured it wouldn't hurt to tell him her real name. "Marie," she responded.

He looked at her a little friendlier this time and they lapsed into silence. Her eyes traveled down from his face to arm. She stared at his hand, remembering the long silver blades that had slid out faster than anything she had ever seen before. She swallowed nervously.

"Does it hurt? When they come out, I mean," she asked, hoping he wouldn't get mad at her for prying. But she was too curious not to.

He nodded slightly. "Every time," he answered quietly, glancing over at her and noticing that she was rubbing her bare hands together and shivering slightly.

He heaved a sigh inwardly. He guessed that he should be nice and put the heat on for her. The cold didn't bother him in the least. He reached over quickly to turn the knob and she flinched away from him.

He was surprised. Was she scared of him? He admitted to himself that maybe it had been frightening for her to witness the claws coming out toward another man's throat, but still, he had been pretty nice to her so far. No reason to be afraid of him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, kid."

"It's nothing personal. It's just… when people touch my skin… something happens," she said, unable to really describe her affliction because she didn't know anything about it. She tugged her gloves back on, not wanting to risk injuring another person by accidentally touching them.

"Like what?"

She shrugged and glanced out the window. "I don't know. They just get hurt," she told him evenly, daring him to say something mean about her. A man with metal knives coming out of his hands shouldn't cast stones.

He merely shrugged and turned his eyes back to the road. "Fair enough." He lit the remnants of a cigar that was sitting perched in the ashtray and let out a puff of smoke.

She opened her mouth to say something else but all of a sudden something fell into the middle of the road and Logan slammed on his breaks, catapulting his body through the windshield and shooting it about thirty feet ahead of her. Rogue's head slammed into the passenger side window and front of the truck crumpled up, locking her legs in places underneath it.

Everything was still and quiet for a moment as she lifted her head and looked shakily forward. She could see Logan's body lying sprawled in the snow a ways away and felt tears coming to her eyes. There was no way a person could survive that, she thought.

And then as if to prove her wrong, she saw him twitch and slowly lift an arm up to help himself stand. His legs were shaky still, but he was fine. He walked closer to the truck and she stared at him in amazement and shock. What kind of mutant was he? A long gash on his forehead showed just a flash of silver before closing up completely, leaving his skin totally unmarred.

"Kid, are you alright?" he asked heavily, regaining his balance. She just kept staring at him. Had she hit her head? he wondered.

"Kid," he repeated, "are you alright?"

She shook her herself and looked down, starting to panic as she realized half her body was pinned beneath the dash. "No, my legs are stuck," she cried frantically, pulling as hard as she could. That only made it hurt worse and she started feeling frantic.

"Hold on. I'll help you." Logan took a step forward and then froze, sniffing the air and finding a strange scent. He looked over at the object that had caused their accident and saw that it was a tree that had been deliberately knocked over. As if something had pushed it over. The hair on his neck rose and he slowly and quietly slid his metal claws out, nose twitching.

XXXXX

Sabretooth watched from the tree line in amusement and anger as Logan stood up and brushed himself off. He still couldn't believe that he and the girl were traveling together. They couldn't have known each other that long. It complicated things a bit for him.

This scenario was very reminiscent of the last fight they had gotten into. A girl was involved in that one too. Jimmy almost killed him over her. _Tried_ to kill him. That was the part that had hurt. When he realized that Jimmy would throw away their blood ties all for a woman.

But, he remembered, in the end he hadn't. They had fought together one last time before never seeing each other again. A voice whispered in his brain that the only reason Jimmy hadn't killed him was because Kayla had turned out to be alive. His mouth twisted in anger and his dark eyes narrowed to slits.

How fitting it was that he would be the one to take yet another female away from his brother.

He watched as Logan stopped and sensed him nearby. Would smelling his scent again awaken any memories? What would happen if it did?

The years of waiting for this moment were finally over and Sabretooth contracted his claws, smiling down at the pair below him. Sure, he had missed his brother, but at the same time he had been itching for a fight for years now. He was still angry at him.

With a loud roar he leapt out from the trees and pounced on Logan. His long unkempt hair swirled around him in tangled masses and he had traded in his black trench coat for a similar one made of thick furs. Canada was cold. Even if Logan hadn't lost his memory, Victor would be almost impossible to recognize by sight alone.

They both fell to the ground and he could hear the girl screaming in the truck. Sabretooth growled and reached down, snatching the silver chain of dog tags from around Logan's neck. Logan leapt up and landed a punch square in his jaw, but got tossed back onto the ground. At the last minute, Logan snarled and swiped at his face with his claws, leaving three long gashes down Sabretooth's chest.

The pain didn't register to him though. He continued forward, howling and Logan threw out a leg and brought the man to the ground. Logan took the opportunity to slide both sets of claws into Sabretooth's chest and he yelled in pain. That time it did hurt.

They stood and circled each other, Victor looking for any sign that his brother remembered him and Logan wondering what the hell this thing was in front of him. He had never fought anyone before that matched this guy's strength. He was clearly a mutant with possibly more strength than Logan himself possessed and this he didn't like one bit.

The loss of blood didn't slow Victor down any. He lunged forward and threw Logan into the truck completely smashing the front glass and knocking him out cold. His nostrils flared as he smelled smoke and glanced away from Logan to look at the girl. His dark gaze met hers as she struggled to free herself from her restraints to no avail. Over her shoulder he saw orange flames leaping up from of the camper.

She was young. No more than a teenager, he guessed taking a step forward. He smiled inwardly. He never thought Logan liked them so young, but he guessed he was wrong. He neared the door to the truck and watched her face pale as she frantically jerked on one leg. Blood was starting to seep through from her efforts and he heaved a sigh. He wasn't supposed to let her die yet.

Now how was he going to subdue her without touching her? he wondered briefly, looking her over dispassionately. Magneto had said that her skin was lethal to anyone who touched it and for a minute he toyed with idea of testing that claim, just to see if he could. If her skin was so poisonous, what did Logan want her for?

It baffled his mind, but before he could rip the door open and attempt take her, a flurry of wind and snow blasted him in the face, blowing him backward and he snarled and looked up. Two people stood in the middle of the road up ahead dressed in black almost entirely. He sneered as he recognized their scents. They were Xavier's people, the ones who had been following him for days now.

The woman had long white hair and dark skin and she held her arms up summoning forth a wind that knocked him on his ass. The man who was next to her, pushed a button on the visor around his eyes and sent a red optic blast his way. It was reminiscent of that kid Stryker had wanted all those years ago. Maybe that boy and this man were the same person, he thought distantly, baring his teeth and running into the tree line.

They had delayed him too long and the fire from the truck was about to explode it. Furiously he leapt onto a ledge and disappeared. From a small rock up top, he watched as the man blasted off the seat the girl was attached to and grabbed Logan, leaving the woman to take the girl. As they dove into a snow bank a few feet away, the truck exploded and flung scraps of metal and debris in the air.

He gave a frustrated low growl and stalked away. He hated it when people got in his way. When he saw that woman again he was going to make her scream. After all, he thought smiling cruelly, _her_ skin was perfect. Touchable, non-lethal.

Just as Sabretooth predicted, Magneto didn't take the news very well. He didn't yell or anything. Just looked at him like he was a failure. If Magneto hadn't been such a powerful mutant and didn't pay so well, Sabretooth would have sunk his claws into him a long time ago.

Right now, he watched as his boss curled a lip in disdain and sat down gracefully behind his large desk made entirely out of metal. It was bare except for one object, a thing he didn't know the name of, but it bounced metal balls back and forth against each other. What the hell would anyone want with one those?

"What happened?" Magneto asked, reclining in his chair and looking coldly at him.

"_They_ were there," Sabretooth spat, clenching a fist at the memory.

"Ah, Charles," Magneto murmured, smiling faintly. He looked up sharply. "And what of the girl?"

"With _them_."

He took this in stride. This was only a hiccup in his plans, nothing more. The mutant wouldn't be able to hide from him forever. He looked over at the man who was more animal now, and noticed something glinting from around his neck. Raising a hand, the piece of metal flew toward him and took it and looked at it.

He saw one word. Wolverine. Ah, so he's returned, he thought. And judging by the less than cordial attitude Sabretooth possessed at the moment his brother's memories hadn't. Magneto found it fascinating that such a heartless, mindless killer could actually care about a brother he hadn't seen in fifteen years. Such feelings were best put aside for the greater good of mutants. He would do his job or else he would be discarded.

Magneto smiled briefly and stood up, tossing the dog tags carelessly onto the desk. "Come my friend, we have work to do."

He strode regally out of the room and Sabretooth started to follow, but he frowned and glanced back. He snatched the metal off the desk and slid it back around his neck. He would see Jimmy again… very soon.


	5. An Unwanted Guest

**Ahhh, finally. For all you out there reading, no more back story. Yay! Lol. **

_Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters—4 days after Liberty Island_

"Logan!"

Rogue grinned and jogged up to her friend, who she knew was trying to sneak out without having any awkward goodbyes.

He smiled at her and looked her over. "How are you doing, kid? Okay?"

She nodded. He reached a finger out and touched the white streak that was a permanent gift from her experience at Liberty Island.

"I kind of like it," she responded, looking down at the platinum lock curved over her chest. She looked back up to his face and smiled. "Running away?" She had a teasing tone to her voice, but they both heard the faint plea behind it.

"Just for awhile, kid. The professor gave me something to check out up north. Don't worry," he said, tossing a cocky smile out, "I'll be back."

She bit her lip. "I don't want you to go," she said plainly, without whining or begging. He was the one person here she felt close to. They had come here together and had formed a tight bond in the short time they had been together. He had saved her life and she would never forget it. The fact that she was in love with him came second.

He thought for a moment, regarding her silently. Then an idea popped into his head and he reached up and dragged his dog tags up over his head. "Here, take care of these for me," he said, dropping them into her black gloved hand. She smiled and he turned to walk away.

"I'll be back for them," he warned lightly, opening the front door and walking through it.

"You better," she called out quietly, watching him for a moment and then closing the door.

XXXXX

Ever since she had regained consciousness after Magneto's kidnapping she found it hard to sleep at night. She didn't want to tell anybody in case it got back to Logan, but it was because she had too much of him in her. She had absorbed more of him than anyone else. His nightmares were hers now. She was constantly waking up in cold sweats feeling like she just went through the worst pain imaginable. Her body would feel sore and tense and usually tears would be streaming down her face.

She didn't want to tell anyone though because she knew it make Logan feel horrible. And that she couldn't let happen. She felt more protective over him than anybody, even though he could more than take care of himself. He was the most dangerous man she knew, she thought, climbing out of bed and putting her slippers on. Besides Magneto, she remembered darkly.

It was almost one in the morning and she was pretty sure that most everyone was in bed by now. Night was one of the rare times when she didn't have to cover up from head to toe and she decided to forgo her bathrobe. Her black nightgown was modest enough reaching to her knees. The straps were thin but covered her chest decently.

She padded down the hall to the stairs and walked quietly down, hoping that nobody was awake to bother her. She lifted her sweat dampened hair off the back of her neck and rubbed her eyes exhaustedly. Having other people's nightmares was taking its toll on her body.

The mansion was silent and seemingly empty, as she moved through the halls and made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. She passed a weird kid who was staring at the TV and seemingly changing the channels with a blink of his eyes. Weird mutation. Better than hers, she thought, taking a cup down and filling it up halfway.

She wasn't really that thirsty. She was just bored and needed to get out of her room after the nightmare. Moving from the kitchen to the downstairs hallway, she briefly thought about going outside for a walk when she heard muted voices coming from an air vent on the floor. It was Professor X, she realized, as well as Scott and the others.

Her curiosity got the better as she heard her name repeated over and over, usually accompanied by heated voices. Why were they talking about her? she wondered uneasily. It didn't sound good either.

She snuck down to the lower level and tiptoed to the room that the voices had been coming from. It was Dr. Grey's office, she realized, wondering what they were doing in that room. Usually they used the professor's.

Apparently, the door was open because she could hear what they were saying before she even got close.

"I can't accept this," Storm was saying, "Professor, you've been like a father to me, but this is absurd. He's an animal. Have you forgotten how dangerous he is?"

A low growl issued from another occupant of the room. Who on earth could that be?

Rogue's curiosity was now at a feverish peak, but she couldn't rush herself, or else she would be caught. Who were they talking about? she wondered, tiptoeing carefully on the cold floor. It couldn't be Logan. She tried to keep her mind as blank as possible to prevent the resident psychics from detecting her too early.

"Storm, you must trust me," Professor Xavier said in his calm quiet voice, "There is more to this than you know, however, I cannot disclose everything to you just yet. I give you my word that when the time comes the three of you will know my reasons."

Almost there.

"When are you going to tell Rogue?" Scott asked calmly. "This cannot be kept from her for too long otherwise it'll break her trust."

"Yes, I know, Scott, but this must be handled delicately. No doubt she will be very against the idea at first."

Rogue was now very worried. What the hell were they talking about? Something dangerous that pertained to her? She had never been one for skulking around in darkened corridors and if they had something they wanted to tell her, then they could do it now. She moved into the doorway but instead of saying something aloud she gasped in horror.

The dark figure of Sabretooth leaning against the wall of the back corner, stared right at her as soon as she came into view. The other four adults jumped and turned toward her also. Anger began coursing through her body at alarming speeds. How dare they keep him here? Keeping the man who had delivered her to her near death in the school where she lived and not even telling her about it.

The voices in her head began clashing together and it drowned out the Professors. They were all pissed off for some reason or another. Magneto because he was under the impression that his soldier had switched sides, Cody because he was afraid, and Logan because he hated Sabretooth and feared for Rogue's safety. Of all of them Logan was the strongest and he howled in her mind, causing her to gasp and bring both hands up to her temples to help assuage the pain.

The teachers all wanted to help her and Scott stepped forward but was held back by Jean. "Don't touch her," she warned, not unkindly.

"The psyches are out of control," Xavier said worriedly.

"I told you we should have told her earlier," Scott said, raising his voice.

She couldn't really concentrate on what they were saying. Everyone else's fury, compounded with her own, blew it up far greater than it would have been normally. She looked up furiously at all of them and then bolted down the hall, seething in anger. What the hell was he doing here?

_What do you think he was doing with them?_ Mangeto asked mockingly. _Charles has always had his own agenda, even when we were friends. Why should you be any different?_

_Why the hell does the professor have him in here with kids?_ Logan snarled. _You should touch him, Rogue. Let him see what happens when you play God with the wrong person. _

In her anger, she really thought that was a good idea. She hadn't quite gotten used to having Logan inside her head yet and she wasn't surprised to find that he was the dominant psyche. Before Liberty Island, he wasn't so bad, but with a double dose of him he was sometimes controlling. It was hard sometimes to know if she was doing something because she wanted to or because Logan wanted to.

She could hear yelling in back of her, but she didn't care. She needed to get out of here before she did something that she would regret.

She threw open the doors and ran as fast as she could towards the woods. All she could think about was running away. She ran so far and so fast that soon she didn't even know where she was. She stopped and collapsed on the ground by a tree, panting and gasping for breath. Maybe all the exercise wore the psyches out too. Maybe they would shut up for once. They only seemed to disappear in the shower, thank God. And the toilet.

_Excellent work, my dear_, Magneto began in his mocking voice, _you've managed to get yourself lost. Instead of staying put and finding out what that animal was doing there, you just took off. Nicely done. Now we won't know anything._

"Shut up," she spat, "I swear if you don't be quiet I'll-,"

_You'll what?_ he laughed, _Kill yourself to make me? Preposterous._

She opened her mouth to shoot off another retort to the voice in her head when all of a sudden she heard a branch snap in front of her. All her senses went on alert. Was there someone out there? She heard Logan growl quietly in her head and for once she let him take over a bit more.

She sniffed the air and recoiled when she definitely detected another person close by. She slowly stood trying not to make a sound. How was she going to get back now? Magneto's mocking words didn't seem so off base at the moment.

A chuckle nearby made her flinch. "Well, look at what we have here."

She stood up slowly and looked around. "Who's there?"

A rush of wind zipped her around face and she whirled around. Nothing. Suddenly, a man with green skin, wearing the bottom half of what appeared to a beat up looking Motocross uniform, descended from the sky into her line of vision.

"Who are you?" she asked, with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

He seemed to debate for a moment and then smiled. "Some people call me Airborne. I guess that will do for you." He hovered in the air without any sort of wings or wind holding him up. He smiled another nasty smile and raised a hand.

She immediately noticed five razor sharp talons protruding from his fingers and she backed away. He wasn't bothered at all by her response to his mutation. He simply flew closer and lunged at her, getting a fistful of her hair and dragging her up into the air with him. She flailed around in terror, not only for herself, but for him too. If he touched her skin, even for a moment, he would lose his powers and they would both die. Unless she could learn to use _his _fast.

"Don't touch me, please!" she begged, him fighting the urge to reach and grab his hands. His nails were digging into her scalp and it was painful.

He only laughed and flew higher. "Why not? What are you going to do about it?"

"You don't understand," she began quickly, "My skin. It's-,"

He grabbed her by the throat and hauled her up. "You really need to…" His eyes lost focus and he gasped for air as her mutation began to take his life force from him. Unfortunately, she was taking his powers also.

They halted mid air and she felt his grip relax on her throat a second before they slowly began to free fall toward the earth. In the distance she could see the outline of her school and silently begged God to let someone see them. If she didn't grab a hold of him, she'd fall and die. But if she kept contact she might kill him before they reached the ground and she would die anyway.

The psyches howled in her head and instinctively she reached around and grabbed hold of his waist. He was spasming and jerking, his wide accusing eyes staring into empty air as they fell. She concentrated with all of her might, closing her eyes and feeling his power running through her body.

She strained with every ounce of her body to control his power and land them safely. Her eyes were screwed shut and slowly but surely she felt them slow down and drift towards the earth. She dared not open her eyes for fear of losing control. A loud voice below made her snap them open and look down.

She was about fifty feet up still and below her were Storm, Scott, Jean, and Sabretooth. A sudden thought struck her.

"Jean," she yelled, trying to do everything at once. It was hard controlling someone else power. She flung Airborne away from her quickly hoping that Jean would know what she was doing by this. She did, extending a hand and catching the falling man mid air, placing him effectively on the ground. Both her and Storm turned to check him over. Sabretooth stood nonchalantly in the background, none of this looking like it effected him at all.

Rogue saw the man's pale green face and her heart lurched, causing her to free fall suddenly. The ground rushed up at her and she willed herself to stop. When she opened her eyes, she was staring at green grass that was three inches from her face. Her arms were stretched out horizontally and she could feel the energy vibrating between her and the earth before she heaved a breath and collapsed onto the grass.

She laid there for a moment before groaning and rolling over, holding her head with both hands as Airborne's screams echoed around her head.

_Where the fuck am I?_ he yelled. _What did you do to me?_

_Hey, buddy, can it_, Logan snarled. _You're lucky I don't rip you apart for what you did._

"Can you guys be quiet please?" she moaned, shakily standing up and rubbing her temples.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked in a concerned voice. He walked over and sighed when he remembered that he had to keep his distance. She looked like she needed a hug.

She squinted up at him and nodded. "Yeah, it's just, that guy is screaming in my head and Logan's threatening to kill him and everything is jumbled up." She stepped to the side to look at the body lying on the ground. "Is he dead?" she whispered, putting a finger to her mouth to chew on apprehensively.

Storm looked over sorrowfully and nodded. Rogue felt like she had just been hit with a hammer.

"But, I didn't hold on to him that much longer than I did Logan on the Island. He can't be dead."

Storm put her white gloved hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "It was only Logan's mutation that saved him that time Rogue. This guy apparently didn't have enough strength to hold on."

_The fuck I didn't!_ Airborne shouted. _It's hard to hold on while a leech sucks the life out of you._

She glared into the air at his comment. "Well, I tried to tell you," she shot back, taking in Storm's confused face and amended her statement. "Um, _him_. I tried to tell him not to touch me but he would listen."

"Who was he?" Scott asked, coming up beside them. "I've never seen him before." Jean walked up and put her arm around his waist.

"He said to call him Airborne. He came out of nowhere and grabbed me by my hair before I could say anything to him. Then he started choking me up in the sky and…" she shrugged, sorrowfully looking down at the ground. This was all her fault. If only she hadn't lost her temper and run off, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have killed a man.

The overwhelming feeling of having yet one more person inside her mind, coupled with the shock of having caused his death, was too much and her vision went dark. She saw the brief outline of Scott as he caught her before falling unconscious.


	6. Waking Up

_Rogue, can you hear me?_

_Rogue?_

_Professor? Is that you? What's going on? I can't move._

_You collapsed after you were found. I think the battling psyches inside your head were too much for your mind to handle just then and it shut itself down temporarily to gain control. You can't move because Jean had to strap you to the bed._

_Why?_

_Well, the mutation you absorbed seems to be lingering far longer than the others. You kept floating up to the ceiling while asleep._

_What does that mean? Is it permanent?_ Her voice sounded panicky inside her head.

There was a pause before he responded. _I think it might be. I think when you absorbed all of him his powers were transferred to you permanently._

_You mean when I __**killed**__ him_, she responded bitterly. _I tried to warn him but I wasn't fast enough. We were in the air and I had to touch him or risk killing us both._

_You don't need to explain yourself to me, Rogue. He was probably going to kill you… or worse. You got to him first. This is not your fault. If anything… it's my fault._

_**Your**__ fault?_ she echoed.

He sighed. _I should have told you immediately that Victor was here instead of letting you find out that way. I only wanted to be sure of what I was doing before I said anything._

_I was partially afraid that one of the psyches would take over and do something, professor. That's why I ran away. Their rage was too much._

_Rage?_

_Well, Magneto was put out that Sabretooth would betray him and Logan was furious that he was even here. It was too much_, she repeated wearily. _Logan was all for me touching you right then,_ she laughed, remembering his words.

A chuckle resounded throughout her head. _That sounds like Logan_, he agreed. _Thank you for not agreeing._

She left out the part where she _had _agreed and continued on to what she really wanted to know. _What is __**he**__ doing here?_ she asked abruptly. _He tried to kill me and everyone else that was there that night and then I find you guys standing around chatting like old friends. He's dangerous, _she insisted.

_Rogue, please trust me. _

Her silence allowed him to continue. _Just before the authorities arrived that night, I had Jean lift Sabretooth out from the water where he was unconscious. We brought him here and monitored him during his recovery. While he was asleep I looked into his mind and saw many revealing things._

_What kind of things?_ she interrupted.

He hesitated. _I can tell you only what pertains to you. When he was carrying you up to the machine, he accidentally touched your face. I didn't perceive that he even was aware of it. It was more than just a few seconds too_, he added. _I think that he might have some measure of resistance to your mutation if not more._

_What!_? she screeched inwardly_._

_I promise you that when you wake up I'll tell you everything, Rogue. Right now just please focus on coming back to us. There is much to begin._

And then there was nothing but silence in her head.

XXXXX

Rogue opened her eyes a day later and found Jean Grey standing over her, smiling her trademark warm and inviting smile down at her.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?"

Rogue winced and struggled to sit up slowly. "Fine. How long have I been out?"

Jean moved to check something on a clipboard while answering. "Not long. Only a couple days."

"How long do I have to stay here?" she asked, catching Jean's brief smile.

"Kids," she said shaking her head fondly, "you guys never want to just rest. I think that if you're able to walk you could leave as soon as you get dressed. There's clothes waiting for you."

Rogue looked down. Yep, she was naked under the sheet. "Who picked them out?" She could just imagine Scott or the professor rifling through her underwear drawer. Jean let out a bark of laughter and Rogue smiled sheepishly, forgetting that Jean was also a telepath.

"Don't worry. _I _picked the clothes out. They're sitting right over there," she pointed over to the chair by her bed. "When you're done, I think the professor wants to see you," she added, looking pointedly at her.

Rogue felt an unwilling jolt of anxiety as she remembered the conversation that she had had while unconscious. What did the professor have in store for her?

"Just remember, Rogue," Jean added gently, "Be nice. And give him a chance."

She sighed and crawled out of the bed. Jean was right. The professor had saved her. He deserved the benefit of the doubt.

She dressed quickly, feeling much better now that the voices weren't trying to pull her apart, but she was still angry. She loathed Sabretooth with ever fiber of her being and now he was here. She had thought him to be dead.

She caught the elevator to the main level and headed straight for the kitchen for some food. Then she steadied herself and took a deep breath and went to the Professor's office. She wondered if there was a class in session right now.

She took a bite of the sandwich she had made and knocked lightly on the door.

_Come in, Rogue. Remember… be nice._

That was really annoying sometimes. Why did everyone automatically think she was going to be mean? She was as respectful of her elders as the next girl. She pushed open the door and saw what Xavier had actually meant.

Sabretooth was sitting facing the professor with his body angled toward the door only slightly. She was going to wring Jean's neck when she saw her again. She should have warned her that this asshole was in here.

"Rogue," the professor admonished slightly, evidently hearing her silent threat.

"I wasn't serious," she mumbled, shooting Sabretooth a loathsome glare and walking over to the desk.

Sabretooth's smile made her falter for a moment. He had a habit of talking with his upper lip somewhat covering his canines, bit with this smile he let it all show, razor sharp canines and all. It was quite chilling, but she gave him another look anyway.

"Rogue, please, if you will sit down we can begin."

She grudgingly took a seat, taking another angry bite of her sandwich. This had better be good.

_You have to be one of the whiniest brats I have ever met_, Magneto said witheringly.

Great. _He_ was back.

_How would you like to have twelve inches of steel shoved up your nasal cavity, Asshole?_ Logan countered.

She wondered if that was even possible to do while inside her mind. Would it hurt her?

_I don't know_, Logan said, grudgingly. _I won't risk it._

"Rogue? Are you okay?"

She abruptly stopped rubbing her temples and straightened up, looking around her. Something inside her snapped suddenly and she slammed her fist onto the arm of the chair.

"No I am not okay," she spat, not really angry at him, but angry at the situation, "I'm going crazy. I can't sleep anymore. I'm having _post-traumatic stress_ from freaking World War One. _Among_ _other wars_." She glowered at him, forgetting for the moment that Sabretooth was in the room. "WWI! That's about sixty-five years before I was _born_. Does Logan even know that he's ancient by the way?"

"And then I have three- no, _four_- people living in my head, three of whom are extremely aggressive and are constantly fighting with each other, one of whom is _pissed off_ that I _killed_ him. And to top it all off, your friend Magneto thinks it's funny to actually _take over_ my body. I am the complete opposite of okay, Professor," she finished, finally out of breath from yelling.

She sat back willing the tears not to come and for once the voices were not talking jumbled up in her head. The Professor did not seem offended by her outburst. He just looked sympathetic.

"Why didn't you tell me about the nightmares?"

She shrugged embarrassed. "I don't know. It's not like they're mine. I didn't want to embarrass him or anything," she mumbled, "I heard guys don't like that. Besides, he would have just felt guilty like usual."

He nodded, taking in what she had said. "And what is this about Eric taking over your body? What did he do?"

She made a face and was suddenly conscious of the other person in the room. She couldn't believe she had just spilled her guts like that in front _him_. Not like he seemed to care one way or another. Sabretooth just looked extremely annoyed. All the time.

She kept her eyes on Xavier and answered. "It wasn't that big of a deal. He just took control while I was brushing my teeth and instead of spitting in the sink, he spat at the mirror, at my reflection. To be a jerk," she added, willing the psyches back into the recesses of her brain. She didn't add that she was scared that Magneto was practicing to take over her body for real.

"You are in a dangerous position, Rogue. If Eric should eventually take control of your body he could wreak havoc on the world again. He could use you to free himself from prison. We still don't know if there is way to tap into the mutations that you have already absorbed. That is why I've asked you here today. First let us begin with introductions," Xavier said, gesturing over to a very bored looking Sabretooth.

She gave him a withering glance while Xavier was speaking. "Rogue, I would like you to meet Victor Creed, also known as Sabretooth."

"We've met," she snapped and the professor sighed.

"Rogue, if I am going to teach you to control your mutation it is necessary that you display some respect while in this room. I know that you are not fond of Mr. Creed, but he may very well end up being important to you."

God forbid, she shuddered, not caring if Xavier heard her or not. If he did he ignored her and continued.

"I have obtained Mr. Creed's permission for this as well, so-," he was cut off abruptly by Rogue who turned to face Victor for the first time since entering the room.

"Why?"

He looked over at her grumpily, but didn't say anything. He wasn't really a man of many words. In fact she had yet to actually hear him speak since finding out he was here.

"Rogue-," Xavier started, but was cut off again.

"No, professor. If I'm going to do this, I want to know why he's helping me of his own free will. What do you get out of it?"

Sabretooth stared at her and then shrugged. When he spoke his voice was low and gravelly at first as if he hadn't bothered to speak in a long time. He looked like shit too, she noticed, her eyes traveling up and down his body taking in his appearance. Scott's lasers must have packed quite a punch. That and almost drowning. But, there was something more behind his eyes that she couldn't yet place.

"I let you use me as a guinea pig and I can stay here as long as it takes me."

"Takes you to do what exactly?" she challenged, this time more curiously.

"None of your business."

"Rogue, it is imperative that we at least try this. Especially after this last… incident," Xavier reminded her quietly and tears filled her eyes.

_Incident? Try murder_, Airborne snorted.

It was true. If she had had some control she could have switched it off and a man wouldn't be dead right now. She wouldn't be going crazy.

She nodded and didn't look at either one of them. "Fine. When do we start?"

"I think your body still needs to rest before we put more stress on it so soon. I will give it three more days and then we will meet, the three of us, back here to begin. Until then," he wheeled his chair around and they both stood up to leave, "I suggest you find out if your newly acquired power is permanent or not. Airborne's powers actually go further than merely the ability of flight. He appears to be flying when actually he is manipulating the air molecules around him to lift himself up into the air. I assume that he could do this to anything."

She didn't say anything as he spoke, just kept feeling more and more guilty. How could she practice using a dead man's mutation? So what if he was an asshole who was trying to kill her? It still felt wrong.

_It __**is**__ wrong you murderous bitch_, Airborne answered snidely. She ignored his comment.

Logan didn't. _Listen up, new-guy,_ he said roughly, _unless you want to die twice I suggest you keep your trap shut._

Airborne snorted in response and she decided to take advantage of the professor for the moment.

"Professor," she asked suddenly, "is it possible for one of the psyches to kill or harm another?"

"I don't know, Rogue," he answered, but he looked deeply disturbed as if he wouldn't like to know the consequences if it was. "It would be like killing off a part of yourself. Ripping a psyche out could send you into a coma, much like what happened when you fully acquired Airborne the other night."

None of the psyches liked that thought. They were just as trapped as she was in a coma.

She felt like a walking time bomb.

XXXXX

Rogue woke up sweating and gasping for air that night. She threw off her covers and walked outside her bedroom to the kitchen again. Her hands were shaking as she filled a glass of water. Tears filled her eyes as she drank it down, remembering her latest nightmare. It was awful, knowing parts about Logan that he didn't know himself.

She felt restless inside the four walls and she decided to take some of the professor's advice. She needed to get a handle on all of her powers and she might as well start with the one she could tonight.

The grass was dewy and cold beneath her bare feet as she trudged onto the grounds and let the peaceful night air relax her. This time she stayed within shouting distance of the mansion… just in case.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling herself lift upwards, the swirl of air around her caressing her body and cushioning it at the same time. Her arms rose to stretch out on either side of her body and she opened her eyes. She was about twenty feet in the air and it felt amazing. So free, like she was born for this.

For the first time in a long time she laughed and flew lower to the ground, skimming the grass with her hands and feeling the cushion of air between her and everything else. She turned over onto her back and simply hovered, staring at the starry night sky and feeling as if something great had just been given to her. For once she didn't let herself feel guilty.

"I should have been born this way," she murmured, wondering what her life would have been like had she not been cursed with her other mutation.

"And I should have been born with fingernails instead of claws," a low threatening voice said from beside her. She turned toward it and saw it was Sabretooth… and promptly crashed onto the grass.

She groaned and looked up at him warily. He was the sort of mutant one didn't want to make any sudden moves around. "I've never gotten the impression that your mutation was much of a burden, Sabretooth. At least not for you," she retorted, slowly rising her feet the good old fashioned way and promptly taking a step back.

"You've only seen me when I was helping to kill you," he shrugged, and then sent an evil smile in her direction. "But, you're right. It isn't a burden. I like being what I am. It comes in very," he paused and let his gaze travel up and down her body, "handy."

She was angry at his insinuation. "And sometimes my very lethal skin comes in very handy," she threatened walking around him to go back into the house. Too late. He snatched one of her gloved arms with one powerful hand and stopped her. His claws came out slowly curving into the leather.

"Let go of me," she commanded fearfully. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and let her go. "Nothing that concerns you."

He wasn't a big talker, she noted in frustration. "Whatever," she shrugged carelessly. "It's not like anyone here actually cares about anything to do with you anyway." She started walking away but he stopped her with his voice.

"And it's not like the _Wolverine_ cares anything about you." His voice held an annoying smirk to it and she turned to face him.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she tossed back.

"I know what he really is," he answered darkly, the ever present hate and anger showing through in his eyes. "People like us don't care about people like you."

"You're wrong. He saved my life," she answered defensively. "Why would he do that if he didn't care?"

He snorted and lowered his head as if in thought. The moonlight was at his back, further shadowing his face from her. All she could see in great detail was his powerful shoulders outlined against the stark pearly whiteness. She swallowed and remembered exactly what he was capable of.

What was she doing exchanging banter with this animal as if he couldn't just rip her throat out? She was almost positive that even _with_ her mutation he was probably fast enough to still kill her before passing out.

"We're animals," he said, "The rules of the world don't apply to us."

"He isn't an animal," she protested vehemently, "You are but he's not. He's nothing like you," she scorned. "You're nothing but a killer, a mindless animal only doing the bidding of your master. Logan fights to protect people now."

_Thanks kid_, Logan said gruffly in her head. _Don't go getting all mushy on me though._

_Oh, I wouldn't dream of it_, she retorted saucily, trying really hard to conceal a grin from Sabretooth.

Victor started laughing and stepped forward menacingly. "You're defense of him is pathetic. A stupid dream based on idiotic feelings that he'll never return. Why would he? You're not really good for anything, are you?" He let his eyes travel down her body again and without really wanting them too, his claws slowly slid out.

Her face was burning in embarrassment and she clenched her fists and started taking off her gloves. She tossed them to the side and then she ripped her robe and tossed that too. The only part of her body that was covered was the old tank top that she wore and a pair of shorts to sleep in. If he touched her he was dead.

"You talk a lot of shit, Sabretooth," she said furiously, watching his eyes darken as he took in her newly revealed flesh. Not a lot of people got to see her this way, but she was pissed off and feeling like a fight. It must be the Logan in her.

_Kid, what the hell are you doing?_ Logan shouted, causing her wince and put a fingertip to her temple.

"Logan, no offense but shut up," she muttered, shoving everything to the back of her mind.

Victor smirked as he realized that the Logan inside her head was probably trying to be the hero again and save her from the big bad cat. Shit, what was _wrong_ with his little brother? His claws were aching to sink themselves into this little body in front of him. Well, more than just his claws were aching right now, but that could wait until later. He was wondering there was a way to have her without hurting himself.

"Nothing I can't back up," he responded, tensing and leering at her. "Let's see if I'm the mindless animal you think I am."

"_You _said you were the animal," she reminded him, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

"I am, just not mindless." And with that he crouched down quickly on all fours and lunged, all thoughts of his promise to Xavier going out of his head.

She was caught off guard by his surprising speed and dexterity, but not for long. Where his claw went swipe at her was nothing but air as she shot high above and came back down behind him, kicking him square in the stomach.

He spun around with a growl and she aimed another kick to his face, earning her four long stripes down her thigh. She hissed in pain and went higher to gain control before plummeting back down to the earth. It was surprisingly refreshing to be able to touch someone just for a second without anything happening. Even though she was punching and kicking to do it.

She laughed as he swiped again and missed. He gritted his teeth and decided to stay still while she flew around him. Soon she would present a weakness and then he would go for it. The blood was pounding in his head and his hands were itching to feel her bones break beneath them.

He wondered for one long sick moment if her mutation worked if she was dead. Was it really wrong to relieve himself with her while her body was still warm? He was uneasy about that thought. It was one thing to kill a woman _while_ fucking her, but it was another to do it afterwards. He wasn't _that_ sick.

Shaking his head, he looked up at her and tensed to spring. She had grown cocky with her new talents and wasn't paying attention to the signs of attack he was giving off.

"Rogue! Victor! What the hell is going on?"

A second later she would have been dead.

They both stopped and looked over at the voice. The blood and anger was still pounding his head, mingled with the lust and frustration, and he wasn't ready to stop yet. He hissed at the woman called Storm and barely stopped himself from leaping at her.

"Storm," Rogue said in surprise and looked down in chagrin.

"What are you doing out here, Rogue?" The older woman was not happy and it showed in her tone. She glared at Victor and his snarling face, preparing to shove a lightening bolt up his ass if he so much as moved wrong.

The girl hung her head I guilt. "I came out here earlier to clear my head and try to practice the new mutation. And then he started goading me and before I knew it, we were fighting," she finished lamely.

"He attacked you?" Storm asked with a triumphant tone in her voice. This would be just the evidence she needed to get this scum thrown out of the school.

Rogue hesitated, wondering why she didn't just lie and get him out of her life. She didn't exactly know why she told Storm the truth, but she did. "Well, I sort of started it. I took my gloves off and kicked him first."

Storm looked shocked. "You started the fight? What has gotten into you, Rogue? This is the most foolish thing you have ever done."

Rogue hung her head in shame and drifted slowly to the grass, burying a toe into the dirt slightly.

"You could have been killed. You're bleeding," she exclaimed, pointing at her thigh that was dripping crimson. "That's going to need stitches. Go to the infirmary immediately and wait for Jean," she commanded, in a tone that brooked no argument. Her eyes were just one shade away from turning completely white, Rogue guessed.

_Storm needs to take the stick out of her ass_, Logan grumbled, having made a return to the forefront of her brain.

Rogue let a smile escape her lips which she quickly smothered under Storm's angry glare. She grabbed her gloves and robe and decided to be lazy. She flew off toward the house, without a backwards glance, feeling the soft invisible fingers holding her up.

_I wouldn't have let anything happen to you_, Logan said. _I would have taken over if it had come to that._

She was annoyed that everyone seemed to think she was going to lose to Sabretooth.

_I was winning_, she insisted to him. _Didn't you see how many blows I got in? He couldn't have caught me in the air._

Logan chuckled without mirth. _Sabretooth is more animal than human. I don't think you know how close you came to dying._

She shivered slightly under the weight of his words and pushed the door the open. Before she went in, she turned her head to glance in back of her. Storm had left, but Victor was still there in the moonlight, staring at her. He still looked powerful and dangerous even while just standing there doing nothing.

She took in his still tense stance and grudgingly admitted that maybe Logan had been right. It had been foolish of her to think that she could win against him. But, the scary part for her was, even though she _might_ have been about to die, it had still been exhilarating fighting against him. Thrilling, blood-pumping, and every other descriptive word she could think of.

As she stared at him with these thoughts racing through her head, he turned and walked back into the woods. All she heard as she shut the door quietly was the echoing frustrated snarl bouncing through the trees.


	7. First Tries

Victor lounged in the easy chair that was provided with his room in the mansion. His room was darkened though it was sunny outside. He didn't feel like light right now. God, he was tired. Not just today but everyday since Liberty Island. It felt like a weary blackness was stealing into his soul and he was more depressed now than he ever had been, even when Jimmy had first left him.

Their fight on top of the Liberty statue had been fun. He hadn't fought anyone as close to his own ferociousness and skill since Wade. It brought a genuine smile to his face to remember when he had cut that asshole's head off. He had wanted to do that for years, ever since he had first met that irritating mouth that never shut up. Wade reminded Victor of a woman in that respect.

The smile slowly faded as remembered what had happened afterwards. When his life had been upheaved. Jimmy had lost his memories. Stryker's promises had been empty. And now _this. _This… lack of purpose.

That damn telepath professor had snuck into his head and learned of his pain. It had been hard to say no to the man when he offered to let him live here temporarily. He needed a place to stay for the moment and it happened to be in the same place that Jimmy was living off and on.

Of course it came with conditions, but what proposition didn't? He couldn't leave the hospital wing until after his brother left the mansion _and_ he had to behave. He had never been good at restraining himself. He hadn't had to in years.

Smiling inwardly at the old fool, he had nodded. He would behave… for now.

"And there's something else," Xavier had said, leaning forward in his chair slightly, "It's about the girl you kidnapped, Rogue."

Victor snorted. "I ain't apologizing if that's what you're after."

The professor shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean, although it would be nice. I want your consent to try something. An experiment of sorts."

Rogue. The name brought a twisted smile to his lips. It seemed he was destined to have bad dealings with his brother's women. He didn't believe her when she said she didn't love him. He had seen the way she had looked at him on the train before Magneto had attacked them. And Jimmy had held her. He would never understand Jimmy's reasoning or thought processes. What good was having a girl you couldn't touch? Why would you even want to be around one? They were a foreign species to him. He doubted that he had even really talked to one in decades.

He didn't get it.

People like them didn't need anybody else, only each other. They didn't need friends or wives or anything that normal people needed. They were free. So why did Jimmy keep constantly trying to tame himself? Where had that ever gotten him? Playing by their rules?

These questions plagued him and his head perked up as he heard voices drifting down the hallway outside his room. He grew somewhat excited when he recognized Rogue's voice as well as a males. He quietly stood up and padded over to his door to listen.

"Bobby, I'm sorry," she was saying, "I just don't want to hurt you."

They stopped walking, just his luck, right outside the door to his room. He cocked his head in the dim lighting to hear more.

"Rogue, I know you don't. It's just that," here the boy hesitated. "Nothing. Let's go find John."

"Bobby, wait," Rogue cried, "Please just tell me."

Bobby took a deep breath. "It's just that I want you so bad. It's hard not being able to touch you," he said softly.

Victor felt like he was going to be sick, but pressed his ear closer. He stifled a snort.

"I want you too," she said gently, "But, I'd also rather you not die. The first and only boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma. Logan was knocked out for an entire day and he's the strongest person I know."

Except for me, Victor added to himself arrogantly, knowing she'd never admit that aloud.

The boy grunted at Logan's name and Victor smiled. The boy was jealous.

"But, you know," she began in a teasing voice, "I was reading this book last night and I had an idea."

Her tone made Victor's primal urges awaken slightly. Something about the change and shift in pheromones. He cocked his head and waited to hear what it was.

She dropped her voice to a whisper that only he and Bobby could hear. "You can't touch my skin, Bobby, _but_… I have gloves. Thin gloves. And," she added in a whisper, "lubrication."

Victor hardened abruptly at her words. He hadn't cared about things like foreplay and hand jobs since the 1880's, but right now he was desperate. He was surrounded by freakin' Puritans. And there was something about the fact that their sexual escapades could result in injury or death that excited him even more.

It didn't help that the boy's hormone level sky rocketed either.

"Come to my room tonight," she whispered.

They walked away until he couldn't hear them anymore and he leaned a head against the wall and breathed deeply.

It wasn't helping. He needed to leave now. He tossed a shirt and boots on and walked abruptly out of his room, slamming the door on his way. He barely noticed that white haired bitch and the nancy mutant with the stupid glasses come out of a classroom as he passed by.

"Where do you think you're going?" the woman asked authoritatively. He didn't even spare her glance as he walked on. If he looked at her it might make his 'predicament' more unbearable. And then he wouldn't be able to stay here anymore to get to Jimmy. _And_ he would probably be electrocuted again.

"Whores," he answered, walking to the door with a single-minded purpose.

He heard a shocked gasp in response until they figured out he wasn't actually calling them whores, and then Scott called after him as he yanked the door open, "Make sure they're still alive when you're done."

Victor gave a dismissive grunt that said 'sure, whatever' and slammed the door behind him. The fresh air helped his state somewhat. Cleared his head. One thing was certain. He wasn't coming back here tonight.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rogue sat in the same chair she had vacated three days earlier, facing Xavier who was behind his desk. Today was the first day of her training session with Sabretooth and she was starting to feel sick. She couldn't do this. There was still time to turn back. Once she touched him it would be over.

"Rogue, I know that you're nervous about this," the professor said. "But I will be here over seeing every minute of the session. There is nothing to worry about."

In her nervousness she became irritated. "I'm going to have all his memories inside my head, sir. _He's_ going to be inside my head forever. I think _that_ is something to worry about." She wondered when Logan was coming back. She missed him a lot. He would never have let the professor talk her into this.

"I'm afraid Logan is going to be gone a bit longer, Rogue. He's on a journey of his own."

Sabretooth snorted derisively and Xavier tried to ignore it. Rogue really wished he'd stop answering her thoughts aloud. It made her look stupid.

_If that's what you want, Rogue. _

She glared at the professor in annoyance. "You purposely kept this from him so that he couldn't challenge you."

He nodded. "I did keep this from him. It wasn't the right time. Certain things must be unlocked before he can begin to heal."

She was confused by his statement, but he waved her on before she could ask anymore questions.

"If you and Victor could please turn and face each other," he began, "we can get this started."

She nervously scooted her chair around to face Sabretooth. He was dressed almost exactly as he had been three days ago, black from head to toe. An undershirt paired with baggy black cargo pants and boots. His face still looked tired and drawn and she felt a slight stab of pity for him. And then she remembered how he helped Magneto try and kill her and the pity disappeared.

"Whenever you're ready Rogue. Try and concentrate on the flow of power while you're touching him. Picture it slowing down and stopping altogether."

She swallowed nervously and forgot for a moment how much she hated him. She looked at Xavier anxiously. "Does it matter where I touch him?"

Sabretooth chuckled. "Well, if _you_ don't have a preference," he leered and glanced down at his lap earning him a snort of disgust.

Xavier talked over him. "It doesn't matter, Rogue. I don't think that it moves faster or slower depending on the area being touched."

Rogue turned her face back to Sabretooth and looked at his bare shoulder. She slowly reached out a hand noticing him tensing, and touched him with one fingertip. Everyone held their breaths. She was sure that at any moment he was going to leap forward and rip her throat out.

Nothing happened.

She frowned and pursed her lips, staring hard at his shoulder. She leaned forward and spread her hand out over his skin and waited… but still, nothing happened.

Shock spread throughout her entire body and she forgot to remove her hand. She simply stared at it blankly. Everyone was silent as the seconds ticked by.

Finally, Xavier cleared his throat and wheeled around to the two of them. "It appears as if your mutation has no effect on Victor."

Rogue slowly looked up to see the triumph and glittering savagery in Sabretooth's eyes. So many things were coursing through her head at once. She was touching someone's skin for the first time in almost a year. She drew her hand back and stared at her palm.

Sabretooth had complete resistance to her power. She couldn't hurt him… or defend herself against him.

And now her one chance to attempt to control her mutation was gone.

**AN- Alright because I know that its just sooooo convenient for Victor to have immunity to her skin, I'll tell you that he's not going to be immune. Just highly resistant.**

**I'm going to be writing a mixture of things that happened in the comics too. Just because there's only so many storylines you can do with the movies and this pairing.**


	8. Mortal Enemy

**Alright, so there are some things that are going to be explained next chapter. Like how come Katrina can read Sabretooth, but the others can't do it **_**as well**_**—and why the bad guys were all invisible at first. And what Rogue's up to.**

**In a couple more chapters Logan is coming back and I'm still keeping the intro to X2 the same or at least mostly the same. After that some stuff will be the same but then other stuff will be different.**

**Also, thanks to everyone who 'alerted' the story. **

He watched her face and savored every emotion that flickered across it. Shock, disbelief, fear, a bit of sadness. You'd think after all this time that she would be happy just to be able to touch someone without killing them.

He smiled predatorily. Maybe she just didn't like being able to touch _him._ He got that reaction a lot.

"What does this mean?" she asked the Professor faintly. He smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but it is most interesting. Would you mind trying your it out again?" he asked in a genial tone, wheeling around to get closer to them.

Victor scowled. "How much longer do I have to be your Guinea pig?"

"Until I'm satisfied that you are indeed completely immune to Rogue's power," he answered. He nodded to Rogue who sighed and slowly reached out to touch his arm this time.

Without warning, Sabretooth grabbed her hand and snarled. She tried to struggle free but was no match for him and she looked up terrified into his black eyes. Then without warning he hissed and she felt the usual pulling sensation that she always did when she touched someone.

He collapsed limply back in his chair, holding his head. She held hers too but for a different reason. As she absorbed his psyche and memories, he howled in rage and his cries reverberated off the confines of her skull.

Meanwhile the Sabretooth that wasn't inside her head, looked up. "Guess I just couldn't control myself," he said, leering at her like she was nothing but a worthless toy for him to play with.

"I'm sorry, Victor, but _I _planted the urge to attack Rogue inside your head. I had to see if the response would be the same in a situation where she felt her life was in danger." Xavier said this all as if it were the most regular thing in the world.

"You did, huh?" Victor glared at him through narrowed eyes and tensed his hands, itching to teach him a lesson. "How about we see what your fear response is?" he growled, low in his throat.

"Professor, please don't ever do that again," Rogue said finally looking up. She wasn't as mad as Victor was because at least she knew now that she wasn't totally helpless against him should he attack her. And he would one day. It was in his nature.

"Alright now, Rogue, touch him again so we can prove that your power only reacts to Victor when you're in a state of fear."

"I don't think so," he snarled standing up. He'd never felt like he was going to die before and he didn't like it. "I'm outta here."

"Victor, we made a deal," Charles said.

"Screw your deal."

"Logan should be back in awhile. Or if you want, you can try your luck with him on your own," he reasoned.

Victor stopped and glared at him. Then he stomped back over to Rogue and held his arm out to her, right in front of her face, claws up.

His arm was tan, she noticed, and hard with muscle. She slid her hand over it just above the wrist and waited. Nothing happened.

"I guess it's safe to say that it only works when you're afraid," the Professor said. He wheeled back over to his desk and glanced up, hiding a smile as he noticed Rogue was still holding Victor's arm and staring at it. Besides being a prime physical specimen, Victor was the first person she'd been able to touch in a year.

"Rogue, you may let go now," he told her politely, pretending to look at papers while not noticing her mental embarrassment. "Tomorrow we'll begin your mental training."

She nodded and stood up. Sabretooth glared at Xavier and stalked out of the room with Rogue trailing behind at a distance. Her head was hurting more by the second and it was making even walking quickly a difficult task. She hoped the Professor's help tomorrow would make everything go away.

_Well, well_, Victor said inside her head. _What do we have here?_

_The last thing you're ever going to see_, Logan snarled, apparently unsheathing his claws.

"Logan, don't," Rogue said, accidentally aloud. "It could kill me or leave me brain dead."

"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, you know."

She dropped her hand whirled around to find the real Victor standing in the shadows behind her. "What do you want?"

He shrugged. "I'm surprised you don't know already."

_Stay away from him_, Logan told her, _He's an animal. He'll rip you apart._

_If I'm an animal, what does that make you… brother?_

"What?" Rogue's voice was colored with shock and disbelief. "No way," she said firmly, holding her pounding head and turning around to go to her room. "There's no way that's possible."

"What?" he asked, already knowing what she was talking about.

She made it to her room, but could barely see where she was going. Logan yelled in anger and did something to Victor because the next moment there was a stabbing pain in her head and she hissed in pain.

The urge to vomit overwhelmed her and she curled up into a ball on her bed, still holding her head.

"Stop it," she moaned. "Stop fighting." Memories were surging through her consciousness making her feel as if her grip on her own reality was fading. Logan hesitated for a second out of concern for Rogue but his rage was hard to stop once it began and Sabretooth didn't give a shit about her.

The psyches clashed like pounding hammers in her brain while at the same Sabretooth's memories came in tidal waves. The murders, the rapes, the pain, the anguish, wars, death, jealousy, lust…

Everything was too much. She could see him standing inside her room and shutting the door. If he wanted to kill her right now, there would be nothing she could do about it. But, instead he stood off in the corner and stared at her.

She was looking at him but not really seeing him. He could smell every emotion and see the horror in her eyes and while he didn't care about her or her pain at all, her reaction unsettled him. He supposed that to someone who was still practically a child, his life had been a bit… rough.

When she had absorbed Logan, it had been the same, except that with him there had at least been some happy moments… happy impressions. A loving father, a fiancée. With Victor there was nothing but anger, rage, hurt, and death- from childhood to now. It was like a black hole was consuming her.

Just being alive hurt right now.

Sabretooth wondered if she died, would he get blamed for it?

Inside her head, Logan fought hard to keep calm instead of prolonging his fight with Creed. It was killing Rogue and he couldn't let that happen. He had told her that he would protect her. But, the rage he felt over what was happening to Rogue was feeding in to his rage with Creed and it was almost uncontrollable. He was not a creature that could be kept leashed.

Rogue tried to keep the pain at bay but lost the battle in a blinding flash of pain. She screamed and arched her back on her bed as she felt searing pain course through her body. How she ended up on the floor she didn't know but soon she was staring at the green carpet through her haze. Rage filled her like a pitcher filling a cup with water. She looked up at Victor and a second later stood up and punched him in the face with unnatural strength.

His head snapped to the side and then righted itself, eyes blackening and lips drawing back into a snarl, his pointed teeth revealing themselves. The back of his hand flew across her face, snapping her neck as her body flew against the wall. It crumpled there and Victor planted a fist through the wall next to him in a fit of rage.

The door to Rogue's bedroom flew open and he snapped his head up, eyes black and body trembling with the overwhelming urge to kill something. It was that red-headed telepath, the doctor. Her eyes glanced down at the girl and her face grew horrified, looking up at Victor in fury.

"I knew we should have killed you when I dragged you out of the river." She raised her hand and telekinetically lifted him in the air by his throat. He grinned and struggled to get free to no avail.

"Over her?" he scoffed barely looking at the girl's dead body on the floor behind Jean. "I've killed lots of girls. What's so special about her? Nothing much, the way her neck snapped so easy. Shouldn't have picked a fight with me," he laughed, infuriating her even more.

She telekinetically snapped his forearm to wipe the smirk off his face and relished the way he had to press lips together to keep from howling in agony. She could hear his thoughts racing from his mind as if he were screaming them at her. They were very violent and bloody, but only when he internally expressed the thought of killing everyone she cared about in the mansion, including Scott and the Professor, and then violently raping herself and Ororo, did she snap his other arm and dropped him crushingly to the floor.

He felt one arm heal itself and lay there breathing hard, waiting for the other to do so as well. He chuckled up at the ceiling, smelling others come running into the room as well. He turned his head to look over at them and spotted something off about Rogue lying on the floor.

Her head spasmed and jerked, righting itself with a cracking sound that only he could hear and one of her hands twitched. He smiled. He'd forgotten that, along with psyches or whatever, she also sucked mutant's powers out of them as well. His healing factor was kicking in and he could see her skin return to its normal pale color. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave a low moan.

Cyclops, Storm, and the Professor all surround Jean as she stared down at Victor. She raised her hand toward him and he felt his airway constrict. _Bitch,_ he thought spitefully, wanting to tear her throat out and she narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip.

"Jean, stop," Xavier said suddenly, swinging his chair around to look at Rogue. The others turned too and looked down at her in astonishment. Xavier smiled.

"I was wondering why Victor's mutation wasn't affecting you, Rogue. It was only delayed it seems."

Scott strode over and helped her up, the bruise on her face fading fast. "Does someone want to tell me what the hell's going on here?" he demanded.

Rogue winced, still feeling odd from being dead for a few minutes, and looked down at Creed. "I think it was my fault," she said, rubbing her temple, "I attacked him. I didn't mean to, it just happened."

Jean didn't take her eyes off Creed. "The psyches?"

Rogue nodded. "After our session, Professor. My head felt like it was being forced apart from the inside. Logan and him started fighting and then one of them did something."

He frowned worriedly. "What?"

She winced and moved slowly to sit down on her bed. "I think it was like you said before. If one of them tries to kill the other it would hurt me. His psyche took over and all I could think about was killing. I was so angry," she shivered, staring off across the room.

"Professor, I don't care who started it," Jean said, "We can't let this happen again. If she had died…"

Xavier looked at her. "Jean, I know how you feel, but the situation is under control now. We can't lock him up like an animal. How will he learn to control his bloodlust?"

No one looked as though they really cared if he controlled them or not. They wanted him put down like a dog.

"Speaking of which," Xavier announced, sitting more upright, "there is a mission coming up and we'll need everyone—including you Victor. It involves a powerful young mutant by the name of Katrina. She's being held prisoner by some very nasty people and we need to rescue here and bring her here."

The others were more attentive now, but Victor looked fully at Rogue and when she caught him staring at her she frowned. The look in his eyes was not pleasant, like she was his next meal or something. When is Logan getting back? she wondered forlornly. He would put him in his place.

"Storm, Jean, I want you to do some reconnaissance first on the surrounding area and get a lay of the land. With Logan gone at the moment, Mr. Creed's assistance will useful."

Everyone stiffened but no one said anything. Victor stood up, his frame taking up a large amount of space in her tiny room, and stretched. "There any beer in this place?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Rogue reclined in the leather chair with her wrists restrained and ankles bound.

"I'm going to create a barrier in your mind hopefully strong enough to contain the psyches and prevent them from having to access yours. Are you ready?"

She swallowed and nodded. Whatever it took. She couldn't stand being connected to Sabretooth anymore. Just thinking his name caused memories to flash through her brain and a tear slipped down her cheek at the overwhelming emotions.

"What's wrong, Rogue?" he asked her quietly.

She swallowed thickly and more tears rolled down. "I can't stand it anymore. The memories. The horrible darkness. I had another nightmare last night. You know what it was about?" she asked and didn't wait for an answer. "I was walking in the woods late at night. It was dark but I knew where I was going because I'd been watching the cabin for over a week now. Inside there was a woman and her husband and… two little kids, happy and warm."

He bent his head and knew even without his telepathy what was coming next.

"Then I walked up to the door and knocked. They opened it and I… killed them all," she whispered, staring up at the ceiling. "But, I didn't just kill them quickly. It was slow, agonizingly so. The kids ran away to somewhere in the back but I knew where they were the whole time. I didn't bother chasing them. First I killed the woman and made her husband watch the things I did to her. Then I killed him, taunting him all the while. Last, I walked toward the very back of the house into the furthest closest, where the two kids were hiding. Instead of just letting them go, I killed them too. The girl first while her brother begged me not to and then finally him. Then it was quiet and I could hear my own footsteps as I walked back out, laughing the entire time."

Of course it wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory.

"Rogue, I know it's painful. But, having Victor Creed here is for the best. We could help him and prevent more murders such as that one."

"Don't call him that," she said flatly, "He doesn't deserve a human name. He's an animal. His name's Sabretooth."

Xavier sighed quietly. "I think you should know, Rogue, that what I'm about to do won't block the memories. It will only block out the voices. It would be very risky to erase all the memories you've absorbed because they are yours now. It could put you in a coma."

She didn't care. She just wanted it all to stop.

_I'm sorry, kid,_ Logan said quietly inside her head. _I should never have left you._

_It's not your fault. It's what I am_, she answered, sadly. "Can we start now?"

Xavier nodded and closed his eyes. She felt her own close and everything went black.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was time to go. Rogue zipped up her black uniform and stepped out into the hangar. The Blackbird sat regally in the back drop, behind the rest of the team. Rogue self-consciously looked from one X-man to the other, knowing all the while that they had only let her come to distract her. Her pale face bore the signs of her nightly struggle. She pulled on her thin leather gloves and, as usual, her eyes sought out Sabretooth.

It was like she couldn't help it. She had felt herself changing since absorbing Logan, but after this guy- she was different to say the least. Something about him was familiar now. She knew him better than anybody, except maybe Logan.

Her lips thinned and she tore her gaze away to pay attention to Cyclops. The Professor had made her promise not to tell Logan about his brother when he came back.

"This is very delicate, Rogue," he had warned. "A person needs time to come to certain realizations on his own. That is why I sent him to Canada in the first place. Each step is a piece to the puzzle. If he finds out about Victor Creed before he's ready… well, you know what happened inside your head. It would be a hundred times worse and innocents would suffer."

That was the only reason she had agreed. She remembered killing thousands of people, whether it was truly her or not, and didn't want to witness more.

"Rogue, you are to stay close to one of us at all times, understand?" Cyclops asked sternly, cocking his head and looking at her frowning off at the floor. "And remember your training in the Danger room."

She nodded and was only slightly annoyed at his tone. He continued.

"The mission tonight is simple. As quickly and quietly as possible, we are to slip in undetected and locate the girl. She's fourteen and a telepath. I don't know why she hasn't escaped yet, but…,"

"Drugs," Victor said, sneering at his denseness. They all looked over at him. "When you want a mutant to cooperate you drug them. That way they can't focus and try to escape."

He looked deliberately over to Rogue who suddenly grew wary. That was how Magneto had gotten her up to his machine on Liberty Island. He'd shot her with a tranquilizer.

No one else seemed to notice the look.

Storm sighed. "That means she will not be able to walk out on her own. One of us will carry her."

Victor smiled slowly, showing his teeth. "I'd be happy to oblige."

Jean glared. "No you won't," she snapped, "I'll do it with telekinesis, or Scott can. He's strong enough. Storm could even lift her with the wind. _You_ are not to touch her in any way."

He shrugged. Then he turned and stepped back about a foot while they continued talking and looking over maps. He slipped up behind Rogue. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice at first.

"Sure you don't want to take a little extra back up?" he asked in a low voice.

She jumped and looked down at his bare arm that was practically touching her. A disgusted look crossed her face and she turned and glared up at him.

"I would rather die than willingly touch you again. Unless it was to kill you," she added, triumphantly noting the dark look that passed over his face. "I can suck your life and healing factor right out of your body. And while I'm doing it you'll be so incapacitated you won't be able to move. Ask Logan."

He stepped closer to her and bent his head so that only she could hear him. "I'd watch that pretty mouth of yours unless you want me to rip it off your face." He smiled and darted a look over at the others. They weren't paying attention.

"You know hard it is for Baldy and Red to read my mind? They can get bits of info here and there, but I'm too strong for them to get anything useful."

"Why are you telling me this, Sabretooth?" She was sure to use his codename. She thought of him as a monster and thought he should be called by a monsters name. His mouth curved into a smile.

"Because I'd start watching my back if I was you, Leech. That stuff I said about drugging mutants? I've done it a hundred times before. And it'd work on you."

She refused to answer him and turned away.

"Bad move, turning your back on an enemy. Especially one who'd love to see Jimmy's face looking over your gutted body. Like I was saying, if I gave you the right amount, the drugs would keep you from being able to be scared enough to hurt me. You'd want to be scared, but you wouldn't be able to."

Her lips were pressed together in anger and she finally turned around and looked at him. His arms looked as though they could crush her even without his enhanced strength. "The Professor and Jean might not be able to easily read your mind you bastard, but they're able to read mine just fine. All I'd have to do is _think_ the word and they'd be on their way."

She looked at him cockily and was proud that she didn't back up when he bent close to her face. She kept her eyes trained on his mouth… and teeth.

"No they wouldn't," he whispered. He smelled like a completely wild thing, she realized, noticing that some of his traits lasted longer in her than others. He wasn't completely a man and yet not an animal either. At least not literally.

She looked at him coldly.

"Why didn't you kill me when you followed me into my room a few days ago? If you want me dead so much…"

He shrugged and straightened up, forcing her to step back. "It's not that I want you _dead_—it's that _Jimmy_ wants you alive. It's personal between me and him. You wouldn't understand," he sneered, about to walk away.

Anger coursed through her at his mention of hurting Logan and she spoke up, stopping him in his tracks. "I understand more of your personal life than I care too. Your memories are clear as a bell, not like Logan's. I know every thought and feeling you've ever had."

His eyes darkened and he tensed his claws, wanting to rip out her throat for smarting off to him that way. She walked forward and some sort of black anger ran through her at lightning speed. She got really close.

"I remember your drunken father, how he used to beat you almost every night," she whispered, "When he wasn't screwing Logan's mom that is. It's really too bad he didn't just kill you and rid the world of your filth. Nobody would miss you. Logan hates you for everything you are. He's never had it in him to be like you. You disgust him."

Normally, she would never say that to anybody but bits of his darkness were in her now, along with his memories. The two kids he'd killed stood out in her mind.

He snarled loudly, hate filling his eyes, and she started taking off her gloves. Just as he would have pounced on her, a force knocked them apart and she banged her head on the floor and groaned.

Jean and everyone else stood looking at them angrily. "What's going on here?"

Rogue refused to speak and Victor stood up roughly. His rage was growing and Jean forcefully had to hold him back. "Unless you want to find her disemboweled body in woods tonight you'd better tell her to keep her fucking mouth shut," he snarled, trying to desperately to get at her through Jean's wall.

They all looked back at her and she felt defensive. "He started it," she protested and Scott shook his head.

"That's immature, Rogue. Of course he's going to goad you. That's what he does. But, starting a fight here in the mansion is not a wise idea. I think you should wait this one out," he said with finality, talking about the mission, and no one disagreed with him.

She looked at them dumbfounded and caught Sabretooth's menacing, yet triumphant expression. "You're taking his side?" she protested loudly, jumping up quickly. "After everything he's done?"

Cyclops held up a hand. "I'm not taking anyone's side, Rogue. I don't want you to get hurt out there, that's all."

She looked at all of them and then stormed away, slamming the door to the hangar as loudly as possible. She furiously ripped off her suit and threw it as hard as she could against the wall in the corridor. She had on some shorts and a tank top and dared anyone to get to close to her as she walked up the stairs and through the lower level toward the front door.

John and Bobby saw her and their mouths hung open. She heard one of them calling to her but ignored it and threw open the door. The last thing they saw before it slammed shut again was her soaring into the air and disappearing.

XXXXX

Victor sat in the jet, strapped in and smirking. Those idiots took his side instead of hers and he found that humorous beyond belief. That bitch had dared to talk about his father and nothing pissed him off more than that. He hated his father and had been relieved when Jimmy had killed him. It made him wish he'd done it earlier. She was going to pay dearly for her insults.

It was personal between them now. He shrugged. Thought she was tough because she couldn't be touched, well, he'd bagged and tagged tougher mutants than her in his day and he knew exactly how to handle her. He would time it right and then strike when the others were caught off guard.

The weather-bitch, who he so desperately wanted to sink his claws into, landed the jet about ten miles from where they needed to be. They had to hump it the rest of the way which was fine by him since he almost never tired. He raised his head sniffed the air. No one was around for miles except straight ahead of them. He smiled. This was exactly what he needed. If everything went his way he would get to kill some people tonight.

They walked in silence with him leading the way. If that annoyed Cyclops he didn't say so. Jean kept beside him and Storm flew overhead low to the tree line. When they got closer, Cyclops signaled everyone to stop and gather closer to him. They could see the house at the bottom of the hill a few miles away.

"Storm, do you think you can give us some cover?"

Her face spread with a smile and she lifted her head back. Exposing her throat, Victor noticed. Her eyes turned pure milky white and the air swirled around her. Thick dense fog crept in about ten feet high until they could only see each other.

"Creed, you can still find your way alright?"

He smiled and nodded. In any other situation it would be so easy to just kill them all. But, he reasoned, there were others awaiting him just three miles away. They'd do nicely.

Besides, it wasn't time for the X-jerks yet.

"Storm, you cover us from outside. Jean, Creed, you're with me. Jean you said there are about ten men armed and guarding the kid right? You locate the girl and grab her while Creed and I hold off the others. Everyone good?"

They all nodded, except Victor who rolled his eyes. He palmed a fist and looked longingly down at the house. When the hell were they going to get a move on?

His vision was blocked suddenly by Scott. "If you try anything funny down there, Creed, we will put you down and not think twice about it. Understand?"

Victor's blood raced hot and he answered the other man's challenge by stepping closer until he was towering over him. "You can try, Laserbeam. I got you once and I can get you again. Or don't you remember?"

"I remember," he said quietly, a muscle in his jaw twitching, "I also remember blasting you off Lady Liberty and into the river. I'm not a schoolboy anymore."

Victor just smiled. All these so-called X-men were going to get the surprise of their life one day. He was a predator. Patience was built into his very DNA. He could wait a long time.

They each gave the other one last long stare before Jean cleared her throat and they took off. The fog made it hard to see but they followed Victor, who could see just fine. Storm landed lightly on the roof and gave the signal she was in position. Cyclops circled the house and found a weak spot in one of the back windows.

"Everything's clear," Jean whispered and he nodded and lightly blasted the edges away to pull both panes out. Victor was too large to fit through just one.

They crept into the house and Victor sniffed. Something wasn't right. He smelled about twelve men all around them, but there was no one in sight. Jean was concentrating, but frowning.

"I sense people but I can't see them," she murmured. "Could they all be invisible?"

"Good guess," a voice said from behind them. Victor melted into the shadows and Cyclops blasted the empty space in front of him. Someone yelled and then suddenly there were about a dozen men surrounding them. One was on the floor bleeding. Apparently ol' Cyke had gotten lucky.

The fight began. Victor slashed and bit and threw everything that was within arms reach. He cut a swath through the enemy that gave them a great advantage. Just as Jean's head was about to be taken off from behind, Victor shoved his hand through the guys chest and ripped his heart out.

"You can thank me later," he told her and then bolted down the hall after a guy who was trying to get away. He didn't make it far.

Victor stood still and listened. He followed his ears and nose through a battered door and down some stairs to a basement. He hated basements. He spotted the reason for them being here tied up to a pole in the middle of the room. Someone had knocked her around pretty good. Her face was bloody and bruised and she opened her eyes when she heard him coming.

"Just do it," she whispered, through dry cracked lips. "Don't hurt me anymore. Just kill me."

He cocked his head and smiled at the irony. Then he ripped to ropes from around the stake and untied her. She was too drugged to struggle as he carried her up the stairs.

"Not this time, girl. Maybe later."

The sounds of fighting had grown dimmer, but it was still going. Jean and Cyclops were outnumbered three to one still. He walked outside and looked up at Storm who was waiting anxiously above the door.

"You wanna take this while I go save your pathetic friends?"

The girl was practically clinging to him and frantically opened her eyes. "No, please, don't leave me. You saved me. Don't leave me," she begged, crying hysterically.

Storm had flown down and was trying to soothe the girl, but to no avail. Disgustedly, Victor pried the weeping girl from his coat and dumped her on Storm. Then he smiled and turned back to the fight. As soon as he entered it was over within minutes. He ripped out the throats of three men, while the lovebirds took care of the other three.

They breathed heavily and looked over at him, this time with no malice. Jean had blood dripping from her thigh and shoulder, while Cyke had cut on his head that would need stitches.

"You found the girl?" he asked, helping Jean outside.

"She's with the other one," he grunted, walking past them to Storm.

The girl was on the ground shaking with her head buried in her knees. Storm looked over at them approaching.

"She won't let me near her. She's set up some sort of psychic shield around her body."

Victor looked down at her annoyed. "Well, break through it and let's get out of here. I'm hungry."

Jean looked over at him, with a pale face. He could almost taste the blood coming out of her. "She doesn't trust us. Forcing ourselves on her won't make it any easier."

He crossed his arms and glared at the girl. "Well, she's already been 'forced on' if you get my drift. One more time won't make a difference."

They all looked up at him sharply and he held up his hands. "Not by me. I was only down there three minutes. I'm fast, but not that fast."

"How do you know then?" Jean whispered, looking back down at Katrina with pity. The shield was keeping her out of the girl's mind. The psychic signature was also familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"I can smell it on her," Victor said bluntly, wondering if the girl could even hear them. Maybe they had beaten her stupid. No one said anything for awhile after that. Cyclops dressed Jean's wound and staunched the blood flow. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. If the girl wanted to die out here in the cold that was fine with him.

He stood up over her and glared. "Listen, we just saved you. If you want to die out here be my guest, but don't expect us to die with you."

Cyclops had stood up quickly to stop him, but before he could, the girl lifted her tearstained face. She was kind of pretty, but it was hard to tell with all the dirt and blood caked on her.

"You saved me," she said, looking up at him with some kind of hero worship.

He smiled, showing his canines. She wasn't afraid. "That's right, I did. You gonna to pay me back by making me freeze to death?"

She turned red and slowly stood up. She didn't look at anyone else but him. "Sorry," she muttered.

The others approached her cautiously and she finally darted them a glance. Her shield lowered and she wrapped her arms around herself. Storm raised a hand.

"It's ten miles to our jet. If you would like, I can fly you to it."

Katrina shook her head. "I'll walk."

"But, you're bleeding and weak," Jean protested, stepping forward, but stopping when the girl stepped back.

"I don't care. I'll be fine."

She looked at them and then back at Sabretooth. He had saved her. She would only trust him. She moved closer to him and hid half her body behind his while he looked down. If this girl only knew how fast he could snap her neck, she wouldn't be so quick to snuggle up to him. He shook his head and walked over to a large rock to sit. The girl scurried over with him. He eyed her with irritation.

They all looked at him and each other as if they couldn't believe it. Storm finally spoke up. "I'm going now. Wait here."

With her gone and the others resting, it gave him plenty of time to think about Rogue. His canines glinted off the moonlight and the girl looked up at him sharply, and then looked away. Rogue, Rogue, Rogue—what was he going to do with her? Maybe the easier question was, what _wouldn't_ he do with her?

He hadn't had a woman in a couple weeks now. He was getting antsy. She would do nicely, but in the meantime he would amuse himself with someone else. He cast a sidelong glance at his recent acquirement and saw her tense. He smirked.

_Don't worry. You're too young. Barely._ She relaxed.

He turned his thoughts back to Rogue and his plans for her. Of course he had to kill her. Before she could do it to him. And he knew that she could.

But, before he killed her, he wanted to see her beg for her life- on her knees—and be the one to wipe that snotty, superior look off her face. Maybe he would actually wipe her _face_ off her _body_. He smiled at that thought and leaned back. He would use her- _destroy_ her- in every way possible until she begged for death and pleaded her sorrow at ever thinking that she could beat him. If he could somehow force Jimmy to watch, that would make his revenge even better.

He didn't notice Katrina's body going very still as he sat there thinking.


	9. Lab Rat

Rogue saw the mansion in the distance, but didn't try and fly any faster. She was fighting the urge to go and pack her suitcase. The only thing keeping her here at the moment was the thought that Logan would eventually come back.

Her face reddened. Was she as pathetic as Sabretooth said she was? She knew that her crush was evident to everyone, even Logan, but she always thought that he knew her feelings went deeper than that. She cared about him as a friend, too. She knew that he loved Jean and she loved Bobby.

Was he laughing at her behind her back?

That thought almost crushed her, but she steeled her nerves and shrugged it off. She'd started this journey alone and if she had to end it alone, well…it wasn't the end of the world. That's why she had named herself Rogue.

The jet was landing in the basketball court/hangar and she grimaced. She didn't want to see anyone from that group tonight. She flew to the kitchen entrance and landed more gracefully than she had in a long time. While she was out she'd been practicing her flight skills and it had paid off.

She opened the door to the kitchen and crept in. Thankfully, it was empty. She went to the fridge and pulled out a soda and popped the top open. Being out in the open air for so long gave her time to think. She was feeling stifled here. Maybe it was time for her to take a break. She didn't belong with these people.

She finished her soda and then walked out of the kitchen, still deep in thought. She wasn't expecting the foyer to be filled with concerned faces that all snapped to look at her as soon as she entered.

"Rogue!"

"Thank God you're okay."

"Where the hell were you?" That was from Cyclops. He looked her up and down. "And why are you dressed like that?"

She glared at him and started walking toward the stairs. "For your information, a lot of girls wear tank tops and shorts to bed."

"A lot of girls can't kill someone just by touching them, Rogue."

She stopped up short, not believing he'd just said that to her. Then she turned around and saw Sabretooth and scowled. A dirty, beat-up looking girl was hiding behind him. Rogue gave them a weird look before turning back to Scott.

"It's was what I was wearing under my uniform earlier. I took it off and went flying. I just got back." She tried to keep walking, but he stopped her again.

"You just took off without telling anyone? We get back from a mission where we got our asses handed to us only to find that you've been missing for hours. Where'd you go?"

_Bobby or John told_, she thought angrily. "I went flying." He looked at her dirty feet. "And I was walking in the woods. It was nice," she said, turning around again. "Leave it to you to ruin it," she muttered.

"Rogue, you can't just take off without telling anyone. We're responsible for your safety. You have to—"

She threw up her hands in frustration and turned to walk back down the stairs. She ignored Sabretooth's blatant staring at her legs and glared at Scott.

"Okay, this is what I'm talking about. I wasn't going to bring this up right now, but since you're all fired up…" She took a deep breath. "I need to get out of here."

Storm and Jean started forward, Rogue kept talking. "It's nothing against anyone, I just need to breathe for a second. I don't belong here. I'm made to be alone. The rules— this life—" she looked away for a moment and then back down at them, "I don't belong here."

"Rogue, you do belong," Jean said softly. "You're one of us."

She shook her head bitterly. "I'm not, but even if I was, that wouldn't change anything. I have to go. At least for a few weeks."

"Is this about what happened earlier?" Scott asked abruptly. " 'Cause if it is, I told you. It was for your own good."

Storm stepped forward and smiled at her. "Rogue, I know you're lonely, but Logan is coming back soon. Probably next week, okay?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Listen, I'm not leaving 'cause I _miss_ Logan. I'm leaving 'cause I'm _jealous_ of Logan. He gets to go wherever he wants. He's free, unlike me." They were making her feel really guilty. "It's not like I won't come back."

Cyclops clenched his jaw and didn't say anything. Then he turned around and walked away.

She was frustrated. "I don't know why he's so mad. I said I'd come back and finish school. I just need to be alone for a little while." Before she could start crying, she turned and ran up the stairs.

Storm and Jean looked at each other and sighed. "Well, I guess this is why she and Logan get along so well."

Sabretooth barely heard them. His eyes were still following Rogue up the stairs until she disappeared, and then he kept staring at the empty space she had just vacated. Did it matter if she left? Would Logan go after her? Was she ruining his plans?

He had to think. He looked down at the girl that was like his shadow and smirked. She had not liked Rogue at all. He could smell her anger and jealousy. Maybe this little arrangement could work for his benefit.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rogue had spent hours crying in her room. She _hated_ Scott. And she was pretty sure that he didn't like her either. So she packed up her army green duffel bag and snuck out that night. The Professor had tried to stop her but she ignored the voice in her head and left.

Now she sat on a bench in a deserted park, wondering what she was going to do next. Even though she had deathly poisonous skin and the ability to manipulate air molecules, she was still afraid. She had grown accustomed to living with the X-Men and having Logan to protect her. It was strange being alone again.

But it was also somewhat nice. The quiet. No rules. Freedom. She had needed this.

A bunch of rough-looking boys walked down the sidewalk and passed in front of her. She tensed but all they did was look her over and keep walking. Then it was quiet again. She looked around and debated getting a hotel room or sleeping in the bushes. She only had a little under a hundred dollars and had the feeling she would need it for food.

Bushes it was, Rogue sighed, and got up. The good thing about a duffel bag was that it could double as a pillow. There were some rather large bushes farther into the park, away from the sidewalk and she walked over, hoping to find them empty of any users. They were. She threw her bag down and looked around. The last thing she needed was a cop walking by and arresting her for loitering.

She knelt down beside the duffel and worked at shoving it farther in. The hood of her cloak fell off and just then she heard a rustling noise. She looked up, heart suddenly pounding. Parks were dangerous at night.

Then a stray cat jumped down from a tree and ran off. She expelled a breath and went back to work on her bag. She had it just where she wanted it, when she sensed someone behind her. She turned around and saw a figure dressed head to toe in black military garb, holding a very big gun, but before she could scream, he raised the gun and fired a shot right into her chest. She looked down stunned and saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out. She looked up and everything went blurry.

"Shit," she muttered, right before everything went black.

XXXXX

She woke up to bright light shining in her eyes. Blurry white figures leaned over her and spoke, but she couldn't understand them. Her body wouldn't move. And then everything went black again.

The next time she woke up, she could see clearly. She was alone in a sterile-looking metallic room on a hospital bed. She was hooked up to all sorts of equipment and she looked down to see her arms and legs encased in metal, holding her in place. Panic bubbled up in her and she looked frantically around, jerking her arms to try and free herself, but to no avail.

Suddenly, a speaker crackled on in the room and a man's voice spoke.

"There is no escape, Marie. You'll only hurt yourself if you try."

She looked over to where the voice was coming from and swallowed. "Where am I? What do you want?"

It clicked on again. "I only want to help you. You are very special, Marie. You have a very special mutation."

She grew angry. "The name's Rogue, Asshole, and I don't need your help."

"How many innocent people have you hurt in the past year? How many _will_ you hurt? You need to be controlled, Marie, for your own good and the good of everyone around you."

She opened her mouth to retort, but just then the doors opened and a man with a team of doctors walked through. He was old, like sixty at least, she noted. He had glasses, a weathered face and wore a military uniform. Her eyes went to his rank and she noted that he was a colonel. Benefits of having Logan in your head.

He smiled kindly at her, but it never reached his eyes. "You have so much potential, Marie. The possibilities are endless." He looked her over thoughtfully. "I wonder how many mutations you can absorb before they rip you apart. Can you use the mutations long term?"

She was getting scared. "I...I...the effects only last for a little while, depending on how long I touch the person."

He opened a file and showed her a picture. She looked up at him.

"Airborne?"

He smiled humorlessly. "Is that what he called himself? Well, his real name is—_was_—William Hardy. I picked him up trying to cheat his way through the X-Games. I helped him the same way I'm going to help you."

She was horrified. "You—you sent him after me, didn't you? That's what he was doing in the woods that night. Looking for me."

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, though he _was _under orders not to touch you. He never was very good at following orders though, I'm afraid." He nodded to a doctor who walked over and began unlocking her metal restraints.

_Not just metal—adamantium_, Logan growled, and she jumped.

_How can I hear you?_ she wondered. _The Professor blocked you all out._

_It was something those assholes did to you. It freed us._

She felt guilty. _I didn't want him to get rid of you, Logan, but I was going crazy from the others. I'm sorry._

_Don't be,_ he said simply. _It was for your protection. This guy's bad news, Rogue. Whatever he's told you, he definitely doesn't want to help you._

She shivered. _What does he want?_

This time Sabretooth spoke up, tauntingly. _To use and control you._

Great. She looked down and realized that she was free now and hurriedly scrambled off the bed, backing away from them against the wall. "Let me go or I'll kill you all."

To their credit, some of them did look afraid. But not the colonel. He simply smiled his infuriating smile. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way, Marie."

Her panic made her angry and she spat at him. He didn't react, simply waved his hand and three fully clothed and masked soldiers walked quickly over to her and shoved her body over the hospital bed. Everything was going crazy in her head as they pushed her face into the mattress.

"She's ready Colonel Stryker," one of them said.

Stryker walked over holding a syringe filled with yellow fluid and slowly bent down, brushing her hair away from her neck. He put a double dose of the contents of the syringe at the base of it, over the beginning of her spinal cord. She cried out in pain and tried to struggle, until finally everything inside her relaxed. They slowly released her and backed away warily.

She stood up calmly, completely under Stryker's control now, and looked at them. Stryker smiled and stepped forward, walking around her closely. Rogue stood stiffly and waited. This was her purpose now. She felt it. Stryker.

"Marie, we're going to do a little experiment." He leaned down so that their heads were together and pointed at a soldier standing across the room. "You see that man, right there?"

"Yes."

"He is going to shoot you with that gun he's holding. I want you to see if you can stop the bullet."

The soldier looked a bit disconcerted, but kept silent.

"How?" Rogue asked, staring at the gun.

"Magneto's mutation is inside you," he answered, "and I bet if you try really hard you can channel that power and use it to save yourself. If you can't…" he paused, "then I'm afraid you're of no use to me."

He walked over to the soldier and tapped his shoulder. "Don't shoot to kill. Yet."

The soldier nodded and stepped forward. He tried to imagine that the girl was an enemy soldier and aimed his rifle for her right shoulder. She simply stared at him blankly and he pulled the trigger.

She yelled and dropped to the floor. Though the pain had been dulled, it still hurt like hell. Stryker sighed. If she wanted to live, she'd better cooperate.

Rogue slowly stood up, anger blazing in her eyes. The pain flicked a switch in her brain and icy cold rage was the only thing she felt now. She had a single-minded purpose and it was to kill the soldier that harmed her. Her anger coursed through her body and though she was wounded she still managed to sprint toward him, lifting herself in the air and kicking him hard across the face. He went down, sprawling about five feet away.

She walked toward him and lifted him in the air. She slammed him into the wall face first over and over until his blood dripped down it. His face was unrecognizable after she was done. Another soldier stepped forward and quickly aimed another bullet for her ribs. It ripped through her and she seethed in agony, jerking her head over to look at the culprit.

She didn't immediately move, but instead raised a hand and gathered as many air molecules in one place as she could then blasted him back into a table with surgical instruments piled on top of it. Her vision was blurring from blood loss even though her rage kept her upright.

"All you have to do is call on Wolverine's healing factor and heal yourself," Stryker said. The guard stood and pulled a scalpel out of his side. He scowled at her and raised it high over his head. The he let it fly at her, embedding itself in her stomach.

She grunted at the shock of it and doubled over. Blood dripped onto the floor and she fell to her knees. Her hearing was fading fast and now all she could hear was the blood pounding in her brain and her diminishing heartbeat. She pulled the scalpel out and it clamored onto the floor.

Everything was slowly receding, but in those moments she managed to hear Logan's voice distantly calling to her. Sabretooth was howling, angry at being trapped in her head and about to die.

She kept her eyes trained on the ceiling and heard footsteps approaching her. Stryker's face filled her vision and he looked disgusted and disappointed. He said something and then walked away.

She knew she was dying, but she couldn't move. All she could do was let herself. Logan was fighting in her head to get to her and she tried to focus on him. He was the only one she'd be sorry to leave. Damn Stryker. He had done something to her before and it was wearing off now from the loss of blood.

_Rogue, you're not gonna die. I won't let you,_ Logan snarled. _Creed, we're the only chance she's got. You wanna die or you wanna live?_

_Like this pathetic existence is living_, Sabretooth snarled sullenly.

But whatever they did, she felt it. It felt like something in brain snapped and it hurt—a lot. This was it. She thought she finally dead at first. Her pain was going away and her vision was clearing. Finally, she thought, looking around.

But—wait. She was still in the same room. A guard was standing over aiming a gun at her head. He was going to kill her. But he didn't notice that all her wounds were healed as if they had never been. She could feel everything better now. Hear better, see better, smell better.

She remembered this feeling. Right after she had absorbed Logan. But it was stronger now. She was stronger. She was _alive._

She smiled and looked the soldier in the eye. He was confused and stepped back. "What the hell?"

His fear of her gave her more satisfaction that anything ever had her entire life. She was still smiling as she lifted herself, still prone, into the air and then daintily onto her feet. It was wonderful. Her body felt powerful, like nothing could ever destroy it.

The soldier hastily pointed the gun at her and put it on burst. He fired six rounds into her body and paled when all the bullets were pushed out and the holes closed up. Something whispered to her in her mind and she felt a new power coursing through her. She raised her hand and focused on the rifle…the _metallic_ rifle.

Magneto's power flowed through her and she quickly jerked it out of his hands. It crashed against the wall and fell, broken, onto the floor. Her triumph and victory gave way to feral rage and she flew at him, plunging her hand into his chest with superhuman strength. He spluttered and choked on his own blood as she ripped out his still beating heart and pushed him down. He fell with a thud and she carelessly tossed his heart onto his dead body.

Then Rogue raised her eyes to the door that she knew Stryker was behind. She would raise this entire complex to get to him, and she would enjoy doing it. She moved the doors off their hinges and walked through a barrage of bullets.

They were painful, but she ignored them as her body healed itself and launched into the middle of the formation. Her rage was spilling over like the blood of her victims. How dare they kidnap her and then treat her as if she was nothing but dirt? Pathetic humans. So they didn't like mutants, did they? Wanted to exploit them and kill them all?

It was like that old saying; don't wound what you can't kill.

But, she reasoned as she slowed down, if she killed them all, then who would be alive to be terrified of her? Of mutants? If she let some live, it would serve her purpose better. They few who weren't dead, lay bleeding on the floor, staring up at her as if she were a monster.

She bent down and looked one man right in the eye. "Next time you wanna play, pick someone who can't suck the life out of you with her bare hands." His eyes widened as her bare hand came dangerously close to his face. Then she smiled and pulled it back. "Just kidding."

She stood up and looked at him contemptuously. "You're afraid of mutants, but it's your fault we attack you at all. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed ripping you all apart. I just thought you should know that all this death is _your_ fault."

Then she lifted a hand and pulled another heavy steel door off its hinges and walked down the corridor after Stryker. Suddenly, from out of an empty tunnel to the side of the corridor, stepped Sabretooth, smiling maliciously at her. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before he broke it.

"I came to rescue you, but I see your doing fine on your own." He sniffed the air and started walking closer. "Something's different about you. Stryker do it?"

She looked coldly at him. "He unlocked my true power. I'm going to find him and thank him for it. Get out of my way."

He bared his teeth and stretched out his claws, sensing she was looking for a fight. "How are you going to make me?"

He was too large in the enclosed space for her to lift easily and she couldn't touch him unless she was afraid. She snorted. She would never be afraid again. She saw a piece of metal sticking out of the wall and ripped it off with a wave of her hand, sending it through his chest. He looked angry and surprised as he jerked it out of his body and tossed it away.

"How the hell did you do that?" he yelled, stomping toward her. She smirked and used all her power to increase the density of the air around him. He growled and felt like he was wading through syrup. Or glue. It was hard to breathe.

Suddenly he was blown back about ten feet and landed hard on the floor. She walked up to him and looked down. "I know who Stryker is. He's older now and I didn't recognize him at first. Don't you want him to pay for his crimes? For what he did to Logan? Help me and I won't hurt you anymore."

He considered her words. Did he want Stryker dead? He did break all of his promises to him. He never gave him the adamantium skeleton he had wanted and had only used him to rape and pillage. Well, actually, that had been the fun part, he smirked inwardly. _But_, he _really_ hated Stryker and his brother was a damn amnesiac because of him.

But this girl had no idea who she was messing with. She wouldn't _hurt_ him anymore? Who the hell did she think she was? He raised a clawed hand and sprang up, plunging it into her shoulder. She cried out and grabbed his arm trying to get his claws out of her. He grinned cruelly and walked her against the wall. The scent of blood was going to his head.

She knew that she would heal if she could only get his nails out. He twisted her other arm behind her and lifted her up, using his thigh to support her. Sweat was prickling her forehead as the pain came in waves. She thought she felt one of his claws scrape her shoulder blade and she gritted her teeth to stay conscious.

Then he jerked her forward a bit and kissed her. Some of the pain died away with the shock of it as she wondered what the hell he was doing. She struggled to get him away from her, but even with heightened senses and strength, he was the stronger one just by sheer body mass alone. Her struggling only excited him more and he gripped her tighter, slamming her harder against the wall.

She felt his tongue in her mouth and unwillingly stilled. He was rough and painful, but she felt her body responding. She _liked_ it. Jerking her arm out of his grasp (only because he let her), she ran her hand up his arm and pressed his head closer to her. Need overtook reason. She'd never really kissed anyone before…at least not without almost killing them.

The hand that had been restraining her before, now gripped her waist painfully and he pressed his thigh closer between her legs. She moaned and deepened her kiss. It was as if every primal instinct inside her had awakened and was struggling to get out.

She broke off the kiss only for a second to tear his black shirt open. Then he was in her mouth again and her hands were running up and down his chest, raking it with her nails. He sucked in a breath against her mouth and lifted her higher against the wall. He jerked his claws out of her shoulder to wind them throughout her hair tightly, and slowly she felt the slicing pain fade away. His erection throbbed painfully against her inner thigh so that every movement either of them made drove their desire to further heights.

_I have to get to Stryker_, she thought dumbly, feeling his lips and tongue on her neck. She was vaguely aware of a hand on her bare thigh, driving her hospital gown up around her waist. Her eyes opened. She had to get to Stryker. He must be killed before he could do anymore damage—_and _for the way he'd treated her.

She concentrated on her power and when she was sure she could make a clean escape she lifted herself quickly out of his reach. As she bolted away, he howled in rage and need and she only felt a _little _guilty. She had more important things to do than _that_.

But _God_ it was hard. She was still throbbing with pure and simple lust and it almost made her turn around and go back. Only, Sabretooth was far behind her and Stryker was nearby. She could smell him.

Sure enough, sitting at computer attempting to lock down the facility, was her target. He looked up and smiled, darting glances every now and then at the screen. Just seeing him was enough to drive away everything else beside anger.

"Ah, Marie, so glad you could join us." He stepped down from the computer and walked closer, though he still kept himself just out of her reach. "I take it you're grateful for all the help I've given you. After all, without me, you'd have never realized your true potential."

"You tried to have me killed. I almost died," she seethed, growing angrier by the minute.

He held up his hands and looked at her. "I'm sorry about that, Marie. I truly am. I was angry because I thought I had made a mistake about you, but I hadn't. You are very special. I can give you everything you want. A place to belong, where you're treated fairly. Where people fear you for the right reasons, not the wrong ones."

It was tempting. She had to admit he was damn good at that. She stared at him and thought about her life at the mansion, where kids her own age kept their distance and she couldn't even kiss her boyfriend.

He saw that he had gained a foothold with her and relaxed a fraction. "We've made remarkable advancements in mutant research over the last sixty years. Don't you want to be able to find someone special to share your life with? To be able to be close to him?"

_Bobby_, she thought distantly. _If Stryker could help her with her primary mutation, then she could finally be with Bobby in every sense of the word._

"Well, there's always _me_," came an angry, sarcastic, voice from behind her.

She turned and saw Sabretooth standing in the room as calm as he'd ever been. But then she saw his eyes and shivered in spite of herself. He smiled at her.

"Don't worry. _We're_ going to get _very_ close later," he promised angrily, "Just as soon as I take care of some unfinished business." He looked at Stryker and bared his teeth in anticipation.

Stryker smiled weakly and tried to talk his way out of danger. "You're too late, Victor. Marie has decided to join me. She'll finally belong somewhere. You only bring suffering wherever you go."

Sabretooth laughed. "When has that ever bothered you before?"

He tried a different tactic. "Marie, if I die, your hope and dreams of living a normal life with people who want you die with me."

"Listen, asshole, she's already got people who want her." Then a familiar _snikt_ sound.

That voice. It couldn't be. She swung around incredulously and her stomach flipped. Logan stood there flanked by Cyclops, Storm and Jean.

"How did you find me?" Rogue asked, walking toward them. Her chest felt tight. The soldiers in the room had all their guns pointed at the X-Men. And secretly, a few at her, too.

Logan spoke first. "I was close by and the Professor contacted me, said you were in trouble. I'm not gone a month and you're already getting kidnapped again."

He cracked a slight smile to show that he wasn't really mad at her and she smiled back. "Sorry."

Storm leveled her gaze at Victor, but spoke to Rogue. "We followed you but by the time we got there you'd already been taken. Creed took off on his own and we followed him, figuring he was up to no good."

Sabretooth growled and sauntered forward, locking eyes with Logan the whole time. "Now that's not very fair is it? I'm the one that saved that damn telepath. She'd be dead probably if I hadn't been there."

"Why the hell is this guy here? Didn't I kill him?" Logan stared at the other man hard and recognized the scents he was giving off. He was looking to finish what they had started on Liberty Island. Well, he was more than happy to oblige.

Sabretooth chuckled. "Like you could ever kill me."

Logan smiled and popped his claws. "Well, I can have a good time trying, right?"

Sabretooth raised his hands, claws fully extended, and gave him a 'come and get me' gesture. Logan rushed forward and their battle began. Stryker tried to slip away undetected, but Rogue saw him. Suddenly, her anger took over again and she saw red. He yelled for the soldiers to start killing everyone, but she raised her hand and took all of their guns away from them.

"Rogue!" someone yelled in surprise.

But, Rogue was flying to Stryker. She caught him and punched him in the face. He fell to the floor and looked up at her, hands lifted in surrender. "Please, Marie, I was only trying to help you. Don't you want to come with me?"

"You said I needed to be controlled—well, so do you." She smiled and used Magneto's power to raise a gun that had fallen next to him. She aimed it at his forehead and watched as he realized he was going to die.

Jean ran up and telekinetically waved the gun to the opposite side of the room. "Rogue, what are you doing? You can't kill him."

Nothing was going to stand in her way. She gathered a cloud of air and blew Jean back, not caring if she was hurt or not. Then she turned her attention back to Stryker.

"I know everything you've done. You are going to pay for all the people you've murdered. For everything you did to me and Victor."

Huh?

She shook her head. It was starting to pound. Stryker took advantage of it and kicked her legs out from underneath her. She fell hard, but managed to grab him as he went to step over her. He punched her in the face but it did no good. She healed immediately.

But, it did make her mad. She stood up, taking him with her and slammed him down on a computer. She raised her hand, ready to punch a hole through his chest, when a jet of red light hit it. Pain emanated off her and she looked over in fury to see Cyclops facing her.

Suddenly, she was more pissed off at him than she was Stryker. All of her previous pent up anger from the mansion was now magnified fifty times. The second she looked away, Stryker rolled over and grabbed another syringe filled with the yellow fluid.

She cried out in pain and clutched the back of her neck, stumbling away from him. Her senses began to dull and her heart rate slowed down. Stryker smiled triumphantly beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Logan and Sabretooth saw what was going on and slowed their fighting. The soldiers in the room were all dead or unconscious.

"Now, Marie, be a good girl and kill them all for me, will you? When you're done meet me at the helicopter outside." He patted her cheek patronizingly and dashed away. Logan started to go after him, but Rogue lifted a hand and melted the metal door behind her. Then she did the same thing for the other two exits as well.

"Rogue, what are you doing?" Jean asked nervously, looking around her and realizing there was no escape.

Rogue gave her a blank look. "Killing you."

She lifted every loose thing in the room and poised them between her and the X-Men. Jean sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. Then she opened them and looked at Scott.

"Stryker's done something to her. He's controlling her."

"Well, how do we undo it?" Storm asked nervously, looking around them at a hundred deadly weapons all waiting to plunge themselves into their bodies.

Jean shook her head, still looking around for an escape. "We can't. It has to wear off."

Logan narrowed his eyes at Rogue and silently contemplated what to do next. Sabretooth eyed her warily, though he too was tense and ready to leap out of the way when she unloaded on them. Jean kept her eyes closed and worked on holding everything back but it was hard. Rogue had her own personal back up squad inside her head.

"Don't worry," Logan said, "if we have to hurt her she can take my healing factor. Just try and knock her out. Storm, you and One-Eye might wanna get down for this."

"Logan, you might think you're in charge, but you're not. So shut up," Scott snapped, keeping his hand at the ready on his visor.

Logan smirked. Scooter always got tense when he was around. He quit smiling when Rogue raised her arms higher, getting ready to unleash hell upon them.

"I can't hold her for much longer," Jean cried, "Logan, do it!"

He only hesitated for a second before sprinting forward faster than Rogue could react and shoving his adamantium claws through her chest. She choked and only about half of her ammunition shot forward. The rest fell, clattering to the floor.

Logan heard Storm cry out but couldn't turn around. He took his claws out of Rogue's shoulder and got ready to grab her bare hand but she suddenly stood back up, breathing heavy in anger. He stared incredulously at her shoulder that was now healing up.

"What the hell?" He sniffed the air and clenched his jaw. Her scent was different. It was like something he'd only smelled in jam-packed rooms before.

"Uh, guys? A little help here would be nice," he called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off her. "Jean, mess with her mind or something. She can regenerate now."

Rogue smiled angrily. "Yes, I can. Thanks to you and Victor."

She smiled over at Sabretooth coyly and Logan didn't like _that_ one bit. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't touch you."

She raised a hand and tapped her index finger against her temple, still smiling. "Everyone's cooperating very nicely now."

He trued to open his mouth to speak, but found he couldn't move. Rogue sneered at him and raised her hand, causing his body to stiffen and slowly float into the air. "I could do whatever I wanted to you right now. I could rip all the limbs off your body. When are you going to learn, Wolverine, to not rush into things before you have all the information?" She looked up at the ceiling. "I bet Charles didn't tell you that the base was underground, did he? All of you are just wind up toys that he has on a shelf, taking you out when he needs you, putting you back when he doesn't." She shook her head in disgust and threw him across the room.

"Rogue, don't do this," Cyclops asked, casting a sidelong glance at Storm who was unconscious on the floor. A piece of debris was sticking out of her side and Jean was frantically trying to get it out without causing more damage. "This is my fault. I'm sorry. I should never have come down on you so hard—made you feel unwanted. I just wanted to keep you safe with everything you've been through."

She rubbed her head. It was starting to throb. She felt like every blood vessel in her brain was pulsing. It started to diminish and she looked up at Scott angrily. "I don't want your apologies. I just want—" she hesitated, looking down and frowning slightly. What did she want? Her anger was abating.

Logan had stood up minutes earlier. "Rogue, what do you want?"

"I don't know." She felt so disoriented, like her entire mood had suddenly shifted. Whispers were crawling around in her head and she felt her body trying to reject them. It was like fingers sliding over her brain.

_Look at you_, came a familiar, taunting voice inside her head. _You're really racking up the body count now, aren't you?_

She closed her eyes and pressed a fist against her head. Cyclops slowly moved closer to her, ignoring Jean's warning to be careful. Logan rounded up the other side and he glared at Creed.

"Just keep staying put, Bub. I'll deal with you in a minute."

It was a warning that Sabretooth was more than happy to obey. He hadn't bothered to fight once he'd figured out that Rogue's anger was mostly directed at whoever was directly in front of her. He had no desire to help the X-Men live anymore. He bared his teeth in a smile. Logan was back.

_Got a taste for blood and you just couldn't help yourself_, Airborne taunted. _God, you're like a rabid dog. Pathetic._

"Shut up," she said, gritting her teeth and rubbing her head. Her headache was worse. It was escalating into pain she'd never felt before. She was vaguely aware that the others were closing in on her. "Don't kill me," she whispered feebly, hoping they heard her. She couldn't tell the voices inside her head from the ones outside.

_I've been suppressed for awhile now. All the macho men running around your head kinda put me out of commission. But thankfully those jerk-offs decided to come to your rescue and put themselves out of business for awhile._

His voice wouldn't stop. The pain in her head was like liquid fire and she swore she would've sold her soul to make it go away.

_I was glad they did though. Torturing you is the only pleasure I have left. _

Tears were rolling down her face and she was on the floor clutching her head. Cyclops and Logan could see that she was no longer a threat, but dressed in a hospital gown, there was too much skin exposed.

"We have to get her to the Professor, Logan. She could have a brain aneurism or stroke."

"I know," he snapped, looking back at Jean trying to Storm alive. He started to tell her to switch with him, but she looked up at Victor urgently.

"I know that you can touch her, Victor. The professor told me."

He shrugged and stepped off the wall. "So?"

He pleaded with him, trying desperately to reach some sort of humanity inside him. It didn't work. He shook his head. "Don't try that shit with me 'cause I don't give a crap. However, Rogue and I have some unfinished business." He grinned maliciously. "And I always like to finish what I start."

It was true. He had an obsessive tenacity that, had it been directed at something other than murder and mayhem, would have been admirable.

Logan watched him tensely as he walked over to Rogue and stooped down. Something about him was tugging at his mind but it wouldn't stay put long enough for him to figure out what it was. Sabretooth picked her up bridal style and then slung her over his shoulder.

"Let's go."

Logan made sure to keep him in his line of sight the entire time, even as he picked up Storm and they all ran as fast as they could outside to the Blackbird. Stryker's helicopter was gone.

Sabretooth laid Rogue down on the jet floor and took a seat, curling his lip at his brother as he checked on her. "Don't bother. She's out cold."

"Unless you want six metal knives shoved through your brain I suggest you shut the hell up," Logan growled, also taking a seat. "Does anyone wanna tell me what the hell's been going on since I left?"

"People who pop in and out of other people's lives don't get to know things, Logan," Scott said calmly with a hint of smart-ass, staring straight ahead.

Logan clenched his jaw and looked at him menacingly. "You got something to say, Pipsqueak?"

Jean held up a hand. "Do this some other time when I'm not trying to fly a jet with dying people inside. Now!" she snapped when they appeared not to hear to her. "What's happened here tonight is no one's fault but Stryker's. Just shut up until we get home," she told them, a sheen of sweat covering her brow. Her best friend and her pupil were in jeopardy and she was scared shitless.

The men glared at each other but sat in silence as the jet came to life and rose in the air.


End file.
